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REV. E. A. HAZEN. 



SALVATION 



TO THE 



UTTERMOST. 



A WORK WRITTEN BY 

REV. E. A. HAZEN, 

M 

OF THE CALIFORNIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE 
M. E. CHURCH. 



"Salvation, O the joyful sound, 
'Tis music to our ears; 
A sovereign balm for every wound, 
A cordial for our fears." 



LANSING, MICH.: 

Darius D. Thorp, Printer and Binder. 

1892. 



13 Tn^ 



OIFT 

BERTRAM SMITH 

SEP 2 8 1933 



PREFACE. 

T?OE years the author of this volume has dwelt with 
supreme delight upon the theme — Salvation to 
the Uttermost. 

For the last few years he has seemed moved, as by 
some invisible power, to pen his thoughts thereon for 
the benefit of others, realizing that they have been of 
unlimited benefit to himself. From this undertaking 
he has been hindered hitherto, from two considera- 
tions: (1) For want of time, being so constantly 
engaged in direct efforts to pluck mankind as " brands 
from the burning." 

(2) He has felt that so much has been thought, said 
and written, in various forms, by greater minds and 
more skillful hands, that he has deemed it unadvis- 
able for him to attempt to add anything to the vast 
river of knowledge from which a thirsty world has 
been invited to drink, and from which famishing 
multitudes with joy have drank. 

As to the first hindrance, it was removed September,. 
1885, when he was superannuated by his conference j 



IV PREFACE. 

but it seemed to him that the causes of his superan- 
nuation, and the necessity of his attempting to do 
something to aid the church in supporting his family, 
rendered it impossible to do such a work as writing 
out this subject. But there came a time when his 
physician decided he must quit all labor, and travel 
for his health; and in thus doing, when he so far 
recovered as to be able to write a little each day, then 
the moving to write upon this subject became more 
imperative. Still he hesitated on account of the 
second cause of hindrance mentioned before. 

On reading the following remarks of Bishop E. S. 
Janes, this was so far removed as to encourage the 
writer to proceed. The Bishop says: " No one in 
the enjoyment of Bible holiness, and anxious for 
its spread and prevalence in the church and in the 
world, will doubt but that the circulation of this 
little volume will do good, will be promotive of the 
glory of God in the sanctification of his children. In 
order to this it is not necessary that a book should 
be better than the Bible, or even superior to the writ- 
ings of Wesley and Fletcher, or Watson and Merritt 
and Bangs, and others on this subject. Without 
claiming this pre-eminence, the work may be highly 
useful. It may relieve some minds of their per- 



PREFACE. V 

plexities concerning the nature of sanctification, the 
way of ita attainment, or its evidences. 

"'Each author on this subject will secure some 
readers that would not give attention to the writings 
of others. Here is a power for good that ought not to 
be lost. Verily, if there is any subject on which we 
need line upon line, and precept upon precept, the 
theme of this book is that subject. If there is any 
religious truth that should be urged upon the dis- 
ciples of Jesus, with the sweetness of His constraining 
love, and the solemnity of His Divine authority, it is 
the truth that Christians may and ought to be holy. 
that tens of thousands, -filled with its bliss, and 
inspired by its power, were telling of its charms and 
inviting to its pursuit ! that tens of thousands of 
spiritual limners, the Holy Spirit guiding their pencils, 
were actively and ceaselessly engaged in portraying 
the glories of this subject to the vision of the church, 
until every member of it, ravished by its beauties and 
impelled by its attractions, would aspire to its attain- 
ment, by faith enter into its enjoyment, and then 
join in labors to spread it !" 

Impelled as we believe by the Spirit of God to write, 
and encouraged so to do by this extract from the pen 
of one whom from personal acquaintance we regard as 



VI PREFACE. 

one of the most eminent men of God we ever met, we 
write, praying that the same blessed Spirit which we 
trust prompts us, may make our words a blessing to 
the hearts, and mould the lives of many readers into 
the image of Him who created them. 

Though "entire sanctification" is a prominent part, 
yet it will be observed it is only one feature of our 
subject. We have endeavored to trace Salvation to the 
Uttermost to its bearings upon all, high and low, rich 
and poor, noble and ignoble, young and old, the 
moderate and immoderate sinner. To all such, in the 
name of God, we humbly commend our work. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

SALVATION AS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE EXPERIENCE AND LIFE OF 
THE AUTHOR. 

Chapter I. 

PAGE. 

Parentage, Birth and Childhood 3 

Chapter II. 
{Salvation came to my Father's Family 15 

Chapter III. 

At the Lagrange Collegiate Institute, and enter the Indi- 
ana Asbury University 28 

Chapter IV. 

Spend the Second year in the University, and enter the N. 
Indiana Conference 42 

Chapter V. 

After four years in the N. and N. West Indiana Confer- 
ence am Transferred to California 55 

Chapter VI. 
Ten years Itineracy in California 68 



Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter VII. 

Continuance of my Itineracy in California in the Effective 
Work, when, at the close of the 37th year, I was Su- 
perannuated 83 

PART II. 

SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST AS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE BIBLE 
AND BY OTHER AUTHORS. 

Chapter I. 
Salvation of the Heathen 97 

Chapter II. 
Salvation for Little Children 106 

Chapter III. 
Justification and Regeneration 118 

Chapter IV. 
Entire Sanctification Exemplified in the Bible 131 

Chapter V. 

Entire Sanctification as Exemplified in the Bible, con- 
tinued 146 

Chapter VI. 
Entire Sanctification as Exemplified by other Authors 161 

Chapter VII. 
The Profession of Entire Sanctification a Duty 172 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX 

Chapter VIII. 
Testimony of Authors to Entire Sanctification 186 

Chapter IX. 
Further Examination of Authors 200 

Chapter X. 

Testimony of Eminent Christians as to the Experience of 
Christian Perfection, Entire Sanctification, Holiness 
and Perfect Love 216 

Chapter XI. 
Faith the Condition of Salvation to the Uttermost 228 

Chapter XII. 
Faith the Condition, continued 241 

Chapter XIII. 
Secondary Agents of Salvation 255 

Chapter XIV. 
Growth in Grace 268 

Chapter XV. 
Re surrection , Ascension and Crowning 281 

Chapter XVI. 
Evidence that Jesus is able to Save to the Uttermost 294 

Chapter XVII. 

Further Proof of Christ's Ability 307 

B 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter XVIII. 
Concluding Chapter 324 

Supplement. 
Prayer 335 





PART I. 



ITS APPLICATION TO THE LIFE AND EXPE- 
RIENCE OF THE AUTHOR. 



CHAPTER I. 

BIOGRAPHICAL.— PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. 

I was of New England stock. According to a 
family genealogy written by a Judge Slaughter, of 
Boston, Massachusetts, the name Hazen is of Holland 
origin. The Judge married a Miss Lucretia Hazen, 
and seemed to think enough of his wife to trace out 
and write up her genealogy. Our attention being 
called to this, and finding that she was of the same 
original New England family as the writer, we 
conclude to take the Judge as authority for the name. 

He says that, during an early Catholic persecution 
of Protestants in Holland, the Hazens, with some 
other families, fled to England and intermarried with 
the English ; that, a short time before the settlement 
of the New England colonies, these families went back 
to Holland; and that, with the next emigration (after 
the landing of the Mayflower) to the Plymouth Rock 
colony, the Hazens came. 

Of this stock, my father, Hart Hazen, was born in 
Connecticut, January 2, 1 798, on a, farm about half- 
way between Hartford and New Haven. My mother, 
Harriet Adams, was not a very distant relative of John 
and John Q. Adams, former Presidents of the United 
States, and was born in Lisle, New York. 

In early life both father and mother, with their 
parents, settled in the State of New York, where they 



4 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

became acquainted, married and settled on a farm in 
the township of Virgil, Cortland county, State of 
New York. There the writer was born, June 30, 1824. 

My parents, during my early years, seemed quite 
religious, and were members of what was called an 
Open Communion Baptist church, which held services 
in a schoolhouse about two and a half miles from our 
home. Elder Hart was the pastor. He was a good man, 
of fair ability. Grandfather, Jabes Hazen, had one 
son (Lord) by his first wife, and Luke, Hart, Lucretia* 
Horace and John by the second. 

Uncle Luke, his wife, and my grandmother belonged 
to the same church as my parents. I think I was 
quite religiously inclined in my childhood. Though 
only about eight years old when my parents moved 
from New York to Ohio, I can recollect, sometime 
before that event (for the first time in my life), of 
staying out of the church services, and spending the 
time in listening to the foolish talk and profanity of 
George Butterfield, a boy much older than myself ; 
and that I thought it would be manly to use profane 
words. Accordingly, with no occasion or expectation 
of benefit, except that I thought George Butterfield 
would think me a man, I said: "By Jesus." 0! how 
forbearing and kind my Saviour was to me then ; for 
(as I see now, but did not recognize it then) he sent 
the Holy Spirit to my heart, to make me feel, 0, how 
deeply, the terrible wickedness of that expression! I 
soon went into the church services, but I ought to 
have gone with my parents. Let all parents take heed 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 5 

by this incident, to see that their children go into 
church with them and stay there. And let all chil- 
dren see that they do not linger with the wicked, lest 
ruin will befall them. I do not recollect any religious 
persons of any other denominations than that to which 
my parents belonged, except a Methodist exhorter by 
the name of Tryon. He was an earnest, loud speaker, 
who seemed to possess a zeal and to inspire a spirit 
which I thought far excelled anything I saw in others. 
I used to get up into my little chair for a pulpit, and 
having my two sisters and sometimes my mother for 
an audience, preach to them (as I said) like Tryon. 
This may have been (as my brother regarded it) a 
kind of prophecy of my future life. I had a sister 
Louisa, two years older, and a sister Lucretia, two 
years younger than myself (born at the same place), 
and a sister, Mary Elizabeth, and a brother, Charles 
Wesley, who were born and died quite young at the 
same place. I have frequently thought that my father 
and mother must have had some predilections towards 
the Methodists, inasmuch as they named one of their 
children John and another Charles Wesley, while 
they did not belong to the Methodists. However, I 
do not recollect to have heard them say anything 
about that. 

I went to school some, at the same schoolhouse 
where we attended church, to an elderly maiden by 
the name of Divinity Angel, who taught me my alpha- 
bet and gave me my first lessons in reading. I believe 
she was a Christian, and she seemed to me to be truly 



6 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

much like an angel. I also went two winters, I think, 
about one and a half miles, most of the time on a crust 
of snow which would bear me and my elder sister. 
The snow drifted at times over a stake and rider 
fence. This school was taught by Charles Sedam, 
who was somewhat severe in his discipline, though I 
think quite a good teacher for the times. Think I 
attended his school two winters and read through 
Cobb's spelling book, 1 pictures and all, and particularly 
the pictures. Could then read some in the testament, 
and a small reader, about equal to the first reader of 
the present time in regard to the difficulty of reading 
matter. 

The farm on which we lived was stony and some- 
what broken, and not very productive. For two or 
three summers I had aided my father some in hoeing 
corn, potatoes and garden produce and in haying and 
other farm work. Was particularly fond of aiding in 
the sugar bush, especially at sugaring off times (a 
part of which work I thought I could do well), and 
father was willing to acknowledge I could, and to let me 
work until I was satisfied, providing I would keep up 
the fires during boiling time. We had one of the best 
springs of water, near our house, that I ever saw, and 
this, with many other pleasant and useful things, 
gave me a strong attachment to my native home. I 
was a strong and pretty active boy physically; and, 
though I have not considered myself of a very brilliant 
intellect, yet, with the application to study I generally 
if not always maintained, there were few who had no 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTEHMOST. 7 

better opportunities for mental attainments ex* 
celled me. One of these was my dearly beloved sister, 
Louisa, to whom I was glad to yield the palm in 
everything except in mathematics. In that branch I 
was not willing to take off my hat to any in a long 
and difficult problem, though in rapid work I might. 

In the year 1832, father, to better the condition of 
the family, as he supposed, sold out my native home- 
stead and moved to Ohio, where his only sister, 
Lucretia, who had married Jered Barr, had gone. I 
felt quite an aversion to leaving my native land and 
friends, more especially ^G-randmother Hazen, Uncles 
Luke, Horace and John Hazen, and Uncles Moses and 
Edward Adams and their families, for whom I had 
formed strong attachments. My attachment was 
especially strong for my Uncle Edward whose given 
and surnames, as well as nature (they say), I in- 
herited. I never thought I had any great love of 
myself, because I could see in myself so many faults, 
but I had a very strong affection for my Uncle 
Edward, and could see no faults in him. It is said 
love is blind, and it may be that this is why I could 
see no faults in him. 

But with all these attachments, the thoughts of a 
new home, and forming new attachments in the then 
far West (as Ohio was considered), reconciled me 
to the contemplated change. So, business being all 
settled, a two-horse wagon being covered with white 
drilling, stretched over hoops, and seats prepared for 
the family, and the necessities for emigration being 



8 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

provided, special friends having been visited and told 
adieu, the last meeting and parting at the little church 
schoolhouse, was a scene that deeply impressed my 
young heart with the fact there was something more 
than human in Christian religion. Such tender ex- 
pressions of pure affection, and such confident expect- 
ations that the little band of Christians, now about to 
be broken, would all meet again on a brighter and 
happier shore, to never part again, and that expres- 
sion of affection and of confidence being given by the 
parting address of the pastor, and in the songs that 
were sung in a spirit that made me feel that it was a 
reality, I could but wish I was one of them. 

Then came the time for starting, and (boy as I 
was), I began to feel some responsibility resting upon 
me, to see that all were aboard, the horses properly 
attached, and the great journey made safely. We 
made the first part of the journey to Skeneateles, the 
home of Uncle Horace Hazen and his amiable wife, 
whom I had never seen before ( though I had seen 
Uncle), who both received us so cordially, that it 
made me feel that there were loving hearts in the city 
as well as in the country, which, for some cause, I be- 
fore was led to doubt. Staying only a short time at 
Uncle's, we struck out and traveled through the south- 
western part of New York State, and the northern part 
of Pennsylvania into Geauga county, Ohio, where we 
found and had a pleasant visit with my grandmother 
Adams, who had married an old gentleman named Fuller 
for her second husband; with Charles and George 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 9 

Adams, brothers of my dear mother, with their families, 
living on good farms adjoining each other. We enjoyed 
our visit among them very much. This being ended, 
we drove on in a north-westerly course through Cleve- 
land, up into Lorain county, Avon township, where 
we found Uncle Jered Barr, to whom my father's 
only sister was married. They had the following 
children: Welthy, Acbsha 0., Luke H., Charles H., 
Mary B., Emma L., Lucretia C, and Sarah S. B. Barr. 
Uncle Jered and Aunt Lucretia belonged to a denomi- 
nation of Christians calling themselves, and wanted 
others to call them' " Disciples/' but as I understand 
now call themselves " Christians. " Uncle preached 
to a little band of them in his neighborhood. I believe 
they solicited father and mother to join them, but I 
understood they made up their minds that if they 
could not find Open Communion Baptists, they would 
not join any. It is probable that for that reason 
father backslid and became wicked, and. mother be- 
came cold and indifferent. 

Sometime in the fall of 1832, father bought a small 
farm, I believe about one and a half miles in a north- 
westerly course from Elyria, the county seat of 
Lorain county, Ohio, and we moved upon it. This is 
a small farm of about forty acres, with a good family 
orchard, a sugar bush, sufficient to make family sugar, 
enough improved to raise food for a small family and 
some to spare, a pretty good house and barn, a wind- 
fall timber lot, with sufficient pasture on it for a 
couple of cows and a pair of horses, etc., constituting 



10 SALVATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

a quite comfortable home for our family. On the 
opposite side of the road from our house, separated 
from the road by our field (not very wide), is a large 
and beautiful cranberry marsh, yielding a large 
quantity of beautiful fruit, free to all around to come 
and pick to their satisfaction. We children gathered 
annually all our family wanted to use, and quite a 
quantity for sale. Thinking this farm not sufficient 
to support our large and increasing family father went 
out to work some, while I had to work pretty hard to 
keep things going at home, so that I had little time to 
attend school. Do not remember to have attended 
church any, while we lived there. Here my brothers, 
George and John Wesley, were born. 

After living there about two years, father, conclud- 
ing that thq farm was not large enough to support our 
family, sold out, and went back to Geauga county and 
rented a farm of a Mr. Willson, which he, with my 
help, worked I believe for two years. This place was 
near Claridon. Here I have no recollection of any 
religious privileges. School privileges were limited, 
while the privileges and opportunities to attend 
dances, and to learn to dance and to frolic generally, 
were ample. These, I and my sister Louisa, began to 
improve pretty thoroughly. Here I also became quite 
profane and took my first lessons in infidelity, in 
which I seemed to be an apt scholar. I might relate 
many incidents connected with my life here, but it 
is the main object of this sketch to illustrate the 
subject of "Salvation to the Uttermost" by showing 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 11 

its work in me. Having written sufficient to show how 
I was continually drifting from God during this 
period I will write no more of it. In the latter part 
of the winter of 1836 father concluded, with his 
family, to emigrate to Lagrange county, Indiana, to 
which some families with which he had formed some 
acquaintance had gone, and where he learned from 
them that there was yet land to be had at govern- 
ment price. So, again our team was rigged for em- 
igration, and on frozen ground the family (now 
consisting of father, mother, myself, two brothers and 
two sisters all aboard), were western bound. 

Traveling nearly the whole width of the northern 
part of the State of Ohio, we had not completed the 
crossing of the Maumee swamp, until the roads had 
been so thawed as to make the mud fearfully deep and 
the traveling very difficult, though, as we were in- 
formed by those we met and of whom we inquired, 
"How is the bottom on ahead?" "It is good, but a 
good way down to it." We found this to be correct 
information, though not all we received was. We got 
through safely, however, and crossed the Maumee 
river on the ice, while it bent fearfully utfder our 
load, and we felt when we struck shore that money 
could not hire us to repeat the adventure. As for me, 
notwithstanding my wickedness, I could not help but 
feel thankful to God, if there was one who cared for 
us, that we were safe on the shore, though deep in the 
mud. We plodded through the mud of the Black 
swamp and then, the traveling being so bad, we stopped 



12 SALYATIOtf TO THE UTTERMOST. 

at a small hotel, where we and a family from Vermont 
(Green Mountains), obtained accommodations until the 
roads should become more passable. 

The Lawrence family fell in with us in our journey 
through the Maumee swamp, and stuck to us until 
our routes separated somewhere in Michigan. They 
were a wicked, skeptical family, I think, from the 
oldest to the youngest member. I improved this 
opportunity to advance my education in that class of 
sciences and reasoning. We arrived in Lagrange 
county, Indiana, and stopped with the family of 
Amasa Durand, until we could get settled in a home 
of our own. Amasa was a brother to Andrew Durand, 
the two owning a saw mill and a tract of good sawing- 
timber land, and also a pretty good farm each. Father 
went promptly and looked out and selected a quarter 
section of land, went to the land office at Fort 
Wayne and entered it. It was a pretty well timbered, 
very level tract, of what was called oak openings 
or plains. It was not as rich a soil as that with but 
little, and that very scrubby oak, which was con- 
sidered as good as prairie. Bat some preferred that 
with the better timber, because of the value of the 
timber and wood. 

We next went to work in good earnest to put up 
what was called a double log-house (that is a log-house 
large enough for two rooms below), a story and a half 
high. The logs were hewn inside. This was soon up, 
a floor laid, a roof on, and we moved into it, leaving 
the finishing for an after consideration. Soon after 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 13 

our settlement here, a beautiful baby sister came to 
cheer our family circle, which we called, in honor of 
our mother, Harriet Eveline. 

Amasa Durand and wife, Ira Hayes, wife and 
daughter, Father Grannis, wife, son Isaac and wife, 
all in the same neighborhood, were Methodists, of 
which Uncle Ira Hayes was the exhorter. This, at the 
time of our arrival, constituted the bulk of the neigh- 
borhood. As far as their religion was concerned I, 
for one, was disposed to give them a wide berth. Soon 
a large family came by the name of Hoagland, con- 
sisting of an old man between sixty and seventy years 
of age with his wife, his son Jacob and wife, and a 
ward named Lew Patrick, who all lived together ; and 
another son and wife with sundry children, who pur- 
chased another farm. The men were all terribly pro- 
fane and wicked, and the whole family, jolly, fond of 
the dance and other amusements, but kind neighbors. 
Of course I was especially fond of their society, and 
made Lew Patrick, who was near my age, a boon com- 
panion. This summer and fall was spent by father 
and myself in close and hard work, opening our new 
farm, building stable, etc., and fitting up our home 
for the coming winter. 

In this neighborhood (about four miles from Lima, 
the county seat) a part of a tribe of Indians still 
roamed the forests, and continued to for about a year 
and a half, when they were removed by the govern- 
ment to the Indian territory in the far west. 

During the following summer (1837) there was a 



14 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

terrible drouth, and the sickliest season ever experi- 
enced in the Western States. Father was taken (first 
of our family) with a heavy ague shake, and it was 
followed up by a severe attack of bilious fever, with 
which he came near dying; and, soon after he was 
taken, I came down with the same fever, and, after 
some days, was so low that I was thought to be dying, 
just after father began to mend a little. For a large 
part of a day the family were standing around my 
bedside, weeping and expecting me to die, of which I 
was barely conscious, but was too weak to speak or 
fully realize anything. If I had died then I should 
undoubtedly have been lost ; but it pleased God in his 
infinite mercy to order otherwise. Glory! Glory! to 
His name. 



SALTATIOX TO THE UTTERMOST. 15 



CHAPTER II. 

SALTATION" CAME TO MY FATHER'S FAMILY. 

Salvation came to my father's family in 1837. 

I stated in my last chapter that Father Grannis 
was one of the Methodist families composing the 
major part of the neighborhood into which we 
moved in 1836. Soon after this he bought a grist- 
mill property, one and one-half miles west of Lima, 
and moved onto that. Shortly after settling there he 
arranged with my sister Louisa to go and teach a 
private school in his neighborhood, and to board in 
his family. She attended Methodist meetings with 
them at Lima, which were held in the court-room. 
She was converted and united with the M. E. Church. 
Thus did the Lord open the way of life and salvation 
to our family. When I learned that my sister had 
joined what were quite commonly called at that day 
the " Howling Methodists" I was very angry. She 
was naturally a very sweet-spirited girl and being two 
years my junior and, as I thought, a model of excel- 
lence I could not bear the thought of being deprived 
of her society, as I believed I now must be. But on 
her return home, I found that her disposition (natu- 
rally sweet) was now as much sweeter as one could 
imagine, indeed quite beyond my gross imagination. 
Her face shone with an unearthly brightness. Her 



16 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

whole being seemed to me to be so changed that 
indeed I seemed to myself quite unfit for her society, 
and yet she would, with her naturally sweet sisterly 
grace, now heightened immeasurably by a heavenly 
glow, so press her society upon me that I could not, 
with all my aversion to the Methodists, resist her or 
her religion. Soon the leaven of her religion worked 
upon the family, bringing mother back to Jesus, my 
younger sister into the fount of cleansing, and both 
into the M. E. Church. 

Just before the sickness to which I referred in the 
last chapter I was riding upon one horse and driving 
another into a yard, when the one I was driving 
kicked me on the left shin-bone, severing a small 
piece therefrom. Stung with pain and boiling with 
rage, I caught and severely whipped the horse, swear- 
ing profanely, and then tied him in the stable, and 
went into the house still suffering intensely with 
pain. Mother tenderly bound up my injured limb, 
and then gave me such a sweet and heavenly admo- 
nition as a Christian mother only could give. This 
was the last admonition she ever gave me, and though 
I struggled hard and long to shake off its influence I 
never could fully do so. 

As father and I began to amend from the sickness 
mentioned in the last chapter, my sisters and brothers 
took the chills and all were very sick a part of each 
day. Our dear mother kept quite well for several 
weeks, though working very hard in waiting on the 
sick, both at home and abroad. One day, I believe 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 17 

about the middle of July, after doing a large washing 
and waiting on all the sick at home, and saying, in 
answer to the question anxiously asked, " Mother, are 
you very weary?" " ,no, I feel quite well." She then 
began to prepare for bed, and on attempting to get 
into bed on the opposite side of the room from that 
where father and I were in bed, she fell by its side, 
seeing which father sprang from the bed and went to 
her relief, and said, " Mother, why didn't you speak?" 
as he lifted her into bed. She gasped out, with 
apparently great effort, " I couldn't," and these were 
her last words. A doctor was sent for in great haste. 
He came, pronounced her disease, yellow fever, incur- 
able, and about two o'clock next morning mother 
went home. 

By this event I sustained a loss which, at the time, 
I was too weak to realize; but as I got better, and yet 
suffered with chills aud fever, there was no mother's 
tender heart to sympathize with me, or with willing 
hand to sooth my fevered brow. 

On the second day after her death her remains were 
laid to repose in the neighboring cemetery, where 
they will rest until the resurrection morn. 

Whence they shall in full glory rise, 
To meet the Saviour in the skie3; 
Where, soul and body, joined again, 
With Christ shall live, and ever reign. 

E'en now thy spirit sweetly rests, 
In yon bright regions of the blessed; 
And we will meet again, once more, 
On yonder bright, celestial shore. 
3 



18 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

We'll meet, but never more shall part 
From those who here are joined in heart; 
And there shall reign, with Christ our King, 
Forever more his praises sing. 

Then rest thy body 'neath the clod, 
Thy spirit go, to meet its God ; 
Thou shalt with Christ, again descend, 
For all Heaven's host, shall Him attend. 

Then, Mother dear, from glory's land, 
Look out for us, to join your band; 
And evermore the praises sing, 
Of Christ, our Saviour, Lord and King. 

This sad event being past, father and I began to 
recover from the bilious fever, but the whole family 
had chills and fever, only occasionally broken by the 
use of quinine during the summer and fall, and, in case 
of father and myself, this continued nearly the whole 
winter. Sister Louisa was now installed as principal 
house-keeper, a position she filled admirably, for one 
of her age, assisted by sister Lucretia. The lives of 
my two sisters, as Christians, were excellent, but had 
little salutary effect upon me for nearly two years. I 
drove the team taking them to church at Lima, but I 
spent my time with wicked boys outside of church 
and Sabbath school until my sisters came out, and 
then would drive home. Sisters did not interfere 
much with this course, as they knew if they did I 
would not take them to church. In the meantime I 
was maturing, as it afterward appeared to me, quite 
beyond my age in infidelity and in general wickedness 
until the spring of 1839, when the prayers and sweet 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 19 

examples of my sisters prevailed and I began to 
attend church and Sabbath school. It was ordained by 
Divine Providence that I became a member in Sabbath 
school of the class taught by a Mr. Charles Fox, a 
class leader and exhorter in the M. E. Church. He 
seemed to know just how to get hold of the heart of 
such a boy as I was, and was, undoubtedly, led by the 
Spirit of God in so doing. I soon got interested in 
committing verses to memory on a strife with the 
other members of the class. I have often thought 
that if children could be induced to do this at the 
present day, and they would commit so many verses 
that the teachers could scarcely hear a small class 
recite them all during the time of Sabbath school, it 
would do them more good at the time and in all the 
future, than the course now practiced. 

Occasionally the teacher would exhort his class to 
seek the Saviour, giving them instructions how to do it, 
and offer to pray with them and for them that they 
might be converted. I soon lost my infidelity and 
resolved to pray to God in secret for the pardon of 
sin, and that he would make my heart better (which I 
now felt was very bad), and that he would help me to 
break off from all sins, especially from swearing. I 
was faithful and earnest in this, for about three 
months, with no success, as I could not break off from 
swearing, did not obtain a sense of pardon, and my 
heart seemed to grow worse and worse. I could not 
understand the cause and began to conclude that 
salvation was not for me. 



20 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

During the spring and summer I was engaged most 
of the time in plowing ground and planting and 
cultivating corn. I would get fearfully angry and 
swear profanely at my horses with no cause ; kneel at 
my plow handles, pray for pardon and help to break 
that habit, and repeat the process over and over. Had 
some one told me that God would not and could not, 
according to the principles of his government, answer 
my prayers, unless I would openly confess my sins and 
my need of a Saviour, and that I believed in Him, I 
might have been induced to do so. But I had resolved 
not to let anybody know of my convictions or pur- 
poses, and supposed success in this better than 
obtaining salvation. In the meantime, Father Grannis 
had arranged that sister Louisa should invite our 
whole family to go and attend a campmeeting, to be 
held in July, on Father Waterhose's farm, south side 
of Brushy prairie, and board at his tent. Sister had 
obtained the consent of the balance of the family and 
then asked mine. 

My old prejudice against the " howling Methodists" 
arose, and though I said nothing about it I at once 
decided that I would not go, but give as an excuse 
that it was necessary for someone to stay at home, 
milk the cows, feed the chickens, and attend to things 
generally, and I would do that. Sister said she had 
arranged for a young man by the name of Oorwin, 
our new neighbor, to do that. I said I could not 
leave matters in his hands, but would go and take the 
family to camp meeting, if they wanted to go, and 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 21 

then come back and take care of things at home. 
Sister knew it was not worth while to urge the mat- 
ter, but I think she did press it at the throne of grace. 

On July 6, 1839, according to arrangement, we 
went to camp meeting, where we arrived when the 
eleven o'clock sermon was about half finished. I 
hitched my horses with their heads to the wagon, to 
feed on hay which I brought for the purpose, 
and took a seat in the congregation to listen to the 
preaching. The preacher, though a perfect stranger, 
seemed to be directing his discourse entirely and per- 
sonally to me. He said I was trying to obtain salva- 
tion with the determination not to let any one know 
it, but that I never could find it. That I should con- 
fess Christ before men or he would not confess me 
before his Father and the holy angels ; that if I did 
not confess Christ I should be damned in hell for- 
ever, describing its torments until I felt that its pains 
got almost hold upon 'me; and then said, that if I 
would confess Christ, He would confess me before His 
Father and the holy angels now and again at the 
judgment, describing that (to me) terrible event, until 
I felt as though I was there receiving my doom — 
4 ' depart ye cursed; " and so he went on until he 
closed his discourse, leaving me to wonder who had 
been telling him about me. The sermon ended, an 
appointment was made for preaching at three p. m., 
and the congregation was dismissed. 

I went to the wagon, ate a lunch, and hitched 
my horses to the wagon to drive home ; when (as I 



22 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

now see it) the Holy Spirit inspired a desire to hear 
the afternoon sermon. I concluded I could stay and 
hear the sermon and drive home afterward, and 
again unhitched and turned my horses' heads to the 
wagon. Then, what I now recognize as another 
spirit said — What a fool you are ! What do you want 
to stay here among these " howling Methodists " for? 
I again hitched up for home, when a stronger desire to 
hear the sermon seized me and I again unhitched ; 
and, fearing some one would notice my strange move- 
ments and think me crazy, I started to the spring 
for a drink. Having obtained one, I walked out 
into the woods and saw a company of boys whom I 
did not know, but discovering that they were jolly 
fellows I approached and said to them, " Boys, you 
seem to be quite jolly, and I would like to get 
acquainted with some such." One said, " We're just 
the fellows for you; make yourself at home." So they 
talked and I talked, in language familiar to us all, until 
they informed me that they had arranged to have a 
meeting out in the woods that afternoon, that such a 
one (introducing me to him) was going to preach and 
that they should be glad to have me take part in the 
services. I answered nothing, but asked myself, 
" Good God! has it come to this?" I am bad enough, 
the Lord knows! But I think not quite bad enough 
to join in a mock service of my Maker, and I said, 
" Good afternoon, boys," and left them. I had gone 
but a little way when the trumpet sounded for ser- 
vices at the ground, and it seemed to me that if Ga- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 23 

briel's trumpet had sounded it would have been to me 
scarcely more solemn. 

Thus did the long-forbearing God, make use of 
everything to bring me to his loving arms. 

I went to the ground, deliberately selected a seat on 
the roots of a large sugar-maple tree standing at the 
end of an aisle back of the congregation, from which 
I thought I could easily retreat, if the fire became too 
hot for me, and go home. There I sat and another 
preacher threw hot shot at me during his entire dis- 
course, during which I several times attempted to 
arise and flee, but seemed chained to the spot. Imme- 
diately on the preacher taking his seat, Aaron Wood, 
the presiding elder, jumped upon one of several 
mourners' benches and exhorted, with mighty power, 
sinners to come forward to seek salvation, and Chris- 
tians to go out and bring them forward. Soon I saw 
my sister, from the lower end, start up the aisle and I 
knew she was coming for me. I would have given 
almost anything to have been away from there, but it 
seemed that even my restive pride said it was cowardly 
to run from my sister. She came to the aid of the 
Spirit which was striving with me to keep me there 
while old nature said within, "No, sister, I won't 
go to that despised Methodist mourner's bench!" But 
as she came near the big tears began to roll down her 
cheeks, and while she said not a word, her tears plead- 
ing louder than words, she extended her hand and I 
took it. At that moment, and in that act, I sur- 
rendered everything, not to my sister, but to God 



24 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

who had used my Sabbath school teacher, Father 
Grannis' invitation, my sister's prayers and sweet 
heavenly life, with every conceivable agency aud in- 
strumentality, and finally my sister's tears, supple- 
mented by the direct agency of His Holy Spirit. To 
Him I surrendered and said, (i Yes, Lord, I will go 
anywhere and do anything, only save me." 

With this state of feeling I rather fell upon those 
kneeling at the mourners' bench, which to me was 
equivalent to the cross of Christ, by which: "The 
world was crucified to me and I unto the world." 

The first man who came and knelt at my side, threw 
his arms around me all trembling with emotion, was 
brother Holcomb, who taught the school I attended 
the winter before in Lima, who was a dancing master, 
and of whose conversion I had not heard. Now he 
was so soundly converted as to pray most earnestly for 
my salvation and instruct me how to find the way to 
Jesus 3 the sinner's friend. Oh, how it encouraged me 
to trust Him who had wrought such a change in my 
teacher in science and folly, to effect a similar change 
in me. 

The next to kneel by, pray for and instruct me in 
the way of life and salvation, was a Horace Bartine, 
who, the last time I had met him, gave me my last 
lessons in infidelity and thought I had graduated as a 
pretty ripe scholar. He also was about the best hand 
I ever met to amuse a crowd by singing comic songs 
and telling funny and comic stories. Now, he was 
telling me of the great change that God, whose very 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 25 

•existence he had taught me to deny, had wrought in 
him. Surely I could not doubt but that change was 
too wonderful for any one less than an infinite God to 
perform. And now that God, infinitely good and wise, 
infinite in all His attributes and resources, was using 
these men and means to inspire hope and confidence 
in Him to whom I was looking for hope and salvation. 
Glory, glory, to -his name ! How could I longer doubt 
but that God who had done such things for these, and 
in His providence had brought them as object lessons 
to inspire my faith could and toould save me. 

At that altar meeting I seemed to obtain no relief 
from the burden of sin which I then felt was intoler- 
able. When the meeting closed, after eating a little 
supper, Horace Bartine came and invited me to take a 
walk with him, and we went out into the grove, where 
we knelt, and after he had prayed he urged me to 
pray for myself, when, for the first time in my life in 
the known presence of another, I attempted to offer a 
prayer to God, though while at the mourner's bench I 
believe I did, in an ejaculatory manner, cry out, " God 
be merciful to me a sinner," and other like expres- 
sions. Still I received no relief, but darkness, like a 
pall, seemed to settle down upon me. 

It is evident to me now that the powers of darkness 
were mustering all their forces against me, and that 
God permitted them for a time to hold me under their 
power, so that I might see the necessity of more fully 
relying on Him for deliverance, and that when it came 
it was wholly of the Lord. Brother Bartine and I 



26 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

walked back to the encampment and found that 
instead of preaching prayer meetings were being held 
in each tent all around that vast encampment, and 
that in each tent a "mourner's bench" or benches were 
prepared to which seekers of salvation were invited , 
and praying bands were prepared to pray and labor 
for their salvation. As we approached we paused a 
moment to behold and contemplate the scene, the 
most wonderful I ever beheld. When we entered a 
large corner tent, I resolved with all my power of 
desperation never to come out until I obtained mercy, 
if there was mercy for me. Prompted by such deter- 
mination, I bowed at the bench where several other 
seekers of salvation were already bowing, and soon 
seemed to become so earnest in my own salvation as 
to lose all consciousness of my surroundings. 

Just after midnight I came to myself and found 
myself standing upon my feet, not knowing how I 
attained that posture, and six young men standing 
around singing, when their voices seemed to strike my 
ear with unearthly sweetness. I looked up, and the 
tent walls seemed to shine with unearthly brightness 
and the faces of those around bore the same heavenly 
glow. I asked myself: "What means all this? 
Where am I, on earth or in Heaven?" When a voice 
seemed to speak within, in accents clear and satis- 
factory, "The change is in you." At this I shouted* 
in olden Methodist fashion, though I had neither 
loved nor learned it hitherto. A sweet, blessed calm 
settling down upon me soon, with a peace that pas- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 27 

seth understanding, and joy inexpressible and full of 
glory, I went to the tent of Father Grannis and 
called him. He answered, " What, Edward, has God 
blessed you? " I said, " Bless His name he has! " He 
shouted, € * Glory ! " and sister Louisa threw her arms 
around my neck and wept tears of joy. Then Father 
Grannis showed me a spot where I might rest until 
morning, which I improved until break of day, when, 
all being quiet around, I slipped out and walked (or 
almost flew) to the woods, where I joined my voice 
with those of the birds and trees and the rising sun 
to praise the God who had made us all, but had 
redeemed and saved me, which none of them could say. 
There I prayed and gave thanks, then went back to 
the camp where nearly everyone I met called me 
brother, which sounded sweeter to me than anything I 
ever before heard. That morning, being Sunday, I 
spoke in a large love-feast, and united with the M. E* 
Church, July 7, 1839. 



28 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTER III. 

AT THE LAGRANGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE AND AT 
THE INDIANA ASBURY UNIVERSITY. 

Our last chapter left the writer at a love-feast in 
campmeeting, near Brushy prairie, Indiana, July 7, 
1839. This meeting was one of the grand conquests 
of the children of light over the powers of darkness. 
Many trophies were won to our Immanuel, one of 
whom was the writer, who enlisted for life in the 
service of Him whom he was now rejoiced to acknowl- 
edge as his rightful Sovereign. He was then told that 
many of his former associates predicted that they 
would soon have "Ed" in their ranks again, but he is 
still able to rejoice that they proved to be false 
prophets ; and, after fifty-three years of experience in 
the service of his king he is able to say, "I am 
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Father was not converted ^t that meeting, though 
deeply awakened. The meeting being ended we went 
home, but for days I could hear cries for mercy from 
seekers, songs and shouts of praise from new born 
souls, and of victory gained at some point in the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 29 

battle that seemed to still be raging, against the 
powers of darkness. Arriving at home, I felt it to be 
my duty to make an effort to establish family worship. 
This was a hard cross, but I took it up as follows: I 
told sister Louisa of my convictions and she said she 
had felt the same. I proposed that we should take 
turns, at one time she should read and I would pray, 
and at another time, I would read and she should 
pray. To this she agreed. I then asked father's con- 
sent and he readily, and apparently with deep 
emotion, agreed, and we entered upon the arrange- 
ment, generally all singing a verse or more, and 
occasionally calling on sister Lucretia to lead in prayer. 
This was quite a revolution in our family. 

We were all at home during the summer and fall, 
when I went to Ontario to attend school at what was 
called the Lagrange Collegiate Institute, under the 
management of the Presbyterians, a Eev. Mr. Steel 
being the principal and pastor of the church in that 
place. I boarded in the family of a Mr. Seymour, 
consisting of the father, mother, two sons and two 

daughters. Mr. S was a school teacher in the 

town school, and a deacon in the Presbyterian church. 
There were very few members of the Methodist church 
there, the town being started by a wealthy man named 
Jenks, on a large tract of land of which he had 
become possessor, and on which he formed a colony 
and the town from inhabitants formerly of Ontario, 
New York. 

My education, up to this time, was very limited, and 



30 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

what little I had was very incorrect, being obtained, at 
terms of short annual intervals, and at district schools 
incorrectly taught in many respects. Under the in- 
structions of Mr. Steel I laid a better foundation for 
an education. 

During the spring, summer and a part of the fall 
(1840), I worked at home on the farm. We had a 
class and prayer meeting weekly at the residence of 
Amasa Durand, which I often led when the exhorter, 
I. Hayes, who was the real leader, was away. During 
the early part of this summer the favorite child of our 
family (and I might say of all who knew her), Harriet 
Eveline, bade us good bye and winged her way to 
meet her mother in the paradise of God. 

At a camp meeting held in our own neighborhood 
during this summer father was converted, and thus 
our whole family (as far as we then considered them 
of sufficient age), was converted, and on the way to 
heaven. Late in the fall of 1840 I returned to school 
at Ontario and continued during the winter and I 
believe until the early spring. 

During this winter Mr. Steel held a series of meet- 
ings in the college chapel. At this meeting he said I 
was his principal assistant. I did become much 
interested in the conversion of my school mates, most 
of whom were members of Presbyterian families. Mr. 
Steel invited them (with considerable earnestness, 
for a Presbyterian of that time) to come forward to 
what he called the " anxious seat;" and, though I 
did not like the name quite as well as I did then that 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 31 

of "mourner's bench," I became quite anxious that 
they should come. On the first invitation none # 
came. On the next night he got me up into the 
stand with him and said, "After I invite persons 
to come to the ' anxious seat ' I want you to follow 
with an exhortation for them to come." So I 
received my first license to exhort from a Presbyterian 
minister in the year 1841. 

He urged his invitation for sinners to come and,, 
none coming, I did not wait for him to get through 
but went out into the congregation and exhorted 
•especially my fellow students to go with me to the 
*' anxious seat." Two went with me and others fol- 
lowed. I got them seated and went for others, which 
Mr. Steel seeing he continued to exhort, giving me no 
chance only as I would throw in a word or two as 
I went along the aisles, which at first I feared might 
interrupt him (though I knew it would not interrupt 
a Methodist preacher); but I found it did not stop 
him, and so he proceeded and I proceeded until the 
■" anxious seat" was well filled and then I stood back 
to see what he would do with them. 

He then asked me to commence at one end of the 
seat and speak a few words of encouragement to each 
One while he took the other end, and when we met he 
asked me to pray. I had not been accustomed to 
pray standing and thought I could not do so, and I 
said, "let us all pray," kneeled down and all followed 
suit, Mr. Steel included, and we had a precious season 
•of prayer. That kneeling was a precedent for the 



32 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

anxious during the balance of the meeting. Several 
, professed to experience a hope that night, and I stated 
that I felt an assurance, having the testimony spoken 
of by Paul as the " Witness of the Spirit, that I was 
a child of God." I urged all my young friends to 
not rest satisfied without such a witness. The meet- 
ing continued quite awhile, and I worked in it 
with increasing interest, Mr. S. asking me to do so in 
my own way, while I was careful to work as I thought 
the Spirit directed, and never heard of his objecting,, 
but he did thank me for bringing some Methodist fire 
into the meeting. I have no doubt but the young 
people felt thankful that I prayed some of the fire of 
divine love into their hearts, and that I had urged 
them to seek for the witness of their adoption into 
the family of God. After that night many of them 
bore clear testimony that they had received such a 
witness. 

Soon after that meeting closed, which resulted in 
the clear conversion of quite a large number of 
students and in greatly refreshing the members of 
the church, Mr. Steel came to my room and said 
Mrs. Jenks had made a party for her son and daughter, 
and authorized him, for her, to invite me to take 
charge of religious exercises on the occasion, in con- 
sideration of the fact that I had been instrumental in 
bringing her children and many others to the Saviour. 
I considered this a beautiful token of Christian regard 
which I could never forget. 

A short time after this Mr. Steel came to my room 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 33 

and said: "Brother Hazen, I don't think the people 
of your church are doing for you what they ought to 
assist you in getting an education. I am authorized 
to say to you, if you will join the Presbyterian church, 
Mrs. Jenks will furnish you means to take you 
through a classical and theological course of study in 
college." I said I was much obliged to Mrs. Jenks 
but I could not accept her offer ; as the Methodist 
church had been the means, under God, of bringing me 
and my father's family to Christ I thought all there 
was of me belonged to that church. 

In the spring of 1840 sister Louisa was married to 
Enos Hayes, and on January 6, 1843, she died, sing- 
ing, "All is well." 

In the spring of 1841, after I left school, father told 
me that he probably should never be able to do much to 
start me in the world, but thought he could get along 
without any more help from me, and if I wanted it 
he could give me my time from then until I was 
twenty-one years of age. I thanked him, and said I 
thought I would learn the carpenter trade. Accord- 
ingly I engaged to work for Leroy Nott, who was to 
give me eight dollars per month and instruct me all 
he could in the business. He was a first-class car- 
penter, but not a first-class joiner. However, he kept 
me most of that season at framing, was faithful to his 
promise to instruct me, and I got to be a pretty good 
framer and learned something of joiner work. I 
went to school again at Ontario during that part of 
the year when it was too cold to work out of doors, 
5 



34 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and then in the season of 1842 worked for a brother 
Smith for ten dollars per month, until cold weather. 
He was a good joiner, but not a very good framer, 
and though he took jobs to put up frames and finish 
off the buildings, yet he did me the favor to let me 
practice my skill in laying off and putting up frames 
and instructed me all he could in joiner work. Then 
I went to school again at Ontario during the winter 
season. A Mr. Patch was the principal that year and 
still continued for a long time. He was an excellent 
teacher, managing the school well, assisted by his wife. 
During the summer season of 1842 (3) worked for 
brother Smith at twelve dollars per month and got the 
trade of both carpenter and joiner so that he gave me 
the entire control of building and finishing a very good 
farm house for a brother Hamilton during the latter 
part of the season. Daring that season I saved enough 
money to take me though the balance of the school 
year. 

Soon after my conversion I felt it to be my duty to 
prepare myself for the ministry, but could see no way 
open for me to obtain the education I needed to pre- 
pare myself for that calling. Though I was aware 
that hitherto the ministers of our church had done 
good service, as a general thing, with but little educa- 
tion, yet I felt that the time had now come that they 
ought to be better educated. I felt that the better 
education was especially needful for me, if I would be 
an efficient minister. Accordingly I felt called to 
prepare for that which has always seemed to me the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 35 

grandest work that ever fell to the lot of man. Dur- 
ing the year 1842 I was licensed to exhort, and in 1844 
the church wanted to license me to preach, but I said 
I could do all the preaching I wanted to as an ex- 
horter until I was done going to school. 

After the school year closed in 1844, I, with my 
brother-in-law, E. Hayes, and his brother Edward, 
went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to get work at carpent- 
ering. We soon engaged work on a large flouring 
mill which lasted until fall. On leaving home I made 
up my mind that, in going to a new place, I would let 
no one know that I felt called to the ministry, and 
thought if no one said anything to me about it my 
convictions of duty would soon wear off and I would 
continue to work at my trade. I went to church on 
the next Sabbath after our arrival in Ann Arbor, and 
after preaching, the pastor, Crippin, announced class- 
meeting in several rooms at the close of the service, 
and I went into room No. 1 in the basement of the 
church. I related my experience, as I thought in a 
very common-place way, careful not to intimate any- 
thing about my call to the ministry. After the meet- 
ing closed the leader, W. Collins, introduced himself 
to me and asked me to take a walk with him. I 
accepted and we walked but a little way when he sud- 
denly turned upon me and asked: " Brother, have 
you not felt that you were called to the ministry.' ' I 
looked at him a moment in silence and answered : "Yes, 
and you are God's high-sheriff to arrest me." Then in 
the kindness of a sympathizing brother he told me 



36 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

his own experience in that matter, and that he was 
now a student in the State University preparing for 
the ministry. I then acknowledged the whole matter, 
and said, " I see that I can not flee from God, and I 
surrender. If the Lord will open the way for my 
education for the ministry, and then open my way 
into it/ 1 will walk in the way." He said, "That is 
right/ p and from that time he became an intimate 
friend and a trusted adviser, until I left that place. 

Early in the fall I returned to Ontario to school and 
stayed there until the close of the school year, when I 
engaged in carpenter and joiner work with Bro. W. 
Jenkins, a local preacher in our church in that place. 

During the year 1845 the wife of Kufus Patch, the 
principal, died, and he asked me to room with him 
for company and to assist him as much as I could in 
the school, which I did. From this time, I went to . 
school at the Institute, working at my trade or teach- 
ing school at intervals as was necessary to meet ex- 
penses until the summer of 1846. 

Then, at a quarterly meeting, I met a Bro. Bayless, 
agent of the Indiana Asbury University, who had 
come in place of the presiding elder to attend the 
quarterly meeting. He asked me what I was doing? 
I answered that I was attending school at the Lagrange 
Collegiate Institute to prepare myself for the ministry. 
He asked, " Why don't you go to the Asbury Uni- 
versity?" I said I had not means to pay expenses. 
He said I could pay expenses there as well as here, 
offered me a scholarship, made my way clear, and 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 37 

I went, deeming this another among the many open- 
ings of Providence for my education. 

I started in at the opening of the collegiate year, 1846 
and 1847, in the freshman class with about «one-half 
year's study to bring up, which the faculty said they 
thought I could do during the four years of the 
college course. I brought up the whole deficiency in the 
year, and entered the sophomore class regularly the next 
year. I think I erred in attempting to do that for I 
came near ruining my health, besides I was not as 
thorough in my studies as I might have been. The 
latter I remedied by extra reviews during my sopho- 
more year, and in part restored my broken health by 
going to work during vacation at my trade on a 
new edifice for our church. 

When I started for the University I had only a 
horse and saddle and a little more money than would 
bear my expenses down there. I rode my little horse 
from Lagrange county, via. Fort Wayne and Indian- 
apolis to Greencastle, following the advice of Bro. 
Bayless. Soon after my arrival Prof. John Wheeler 
bought my horse and saddle, paying a good price in 
board at Father Talbott's, in books which I needed to 
study, and a little money, with all of which I had no 
idea I could pay my way more than half of the year, 
expecting then to be obliged to leave and teach a 
district school to obtain means for going farther. But 
soon another providence interposed. Prof. Wheeler 
was carrying on, in one of the University rooms, a 
boys' school, hiring students of the University to teach 



38 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

in it, some one and others two hours each day. A Bro. 
Hass, who was now a senior, wanted to give up his 
position in that school and Prof. Wheeler offered it 
to me, which I gladly accepted. This enabled me to 
pay my way through the year. For sometime I had 
been convinced that, though I had the witness of the 
Spirit that I was a child of God, yet, there were 
evils lurking within from which I fain would be free, 
and from which I had learned from the word of God 
and from Methodist authors it was my privilege to be 
free. After I started in at the University, I began to 
seek most earnestly for this freedom. On Christmas 
day, 1846, I sought it with earnestness bordering on 
desperation which continued until midnight, being 
Saturday, when, almost in despair, concluding that it 
was not for me, kneeling at a chair with my bible 
before me, I cried, " 0, Lord! Guide me to some pass- 
age in thy word which will lead me into the possession 
of the blessing I seek." I opened my bible, when my 
eyes fell upon the following : " Blessed are they which 
do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall 
be filled." I cried, " 0, Lord Jesus! these are thy 
words, and I believe them." And 0! such a fullness 
came into my whole being, as was inexpressible and 
full of glory. It was quite overwhelming. This Sat- 
urday night was the counterpart to the night of my 
conversion. There, at midnight, I came to Christ, 
laboring and heavy laden, and he gave rest to my soul. 
Now I came to him for deliverance from all unrighteous- 
ness and to be filled with righteousness and it came 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 39 

in all its ftillness, power and glory. Of this I had 
just as clear and full a witness of the Spirit as of my 
conversion. 

The next morning, as I was going up to class meet - 
ing, the thought came to my mind that I ought to 
tell the class what God had done for me the night 
before. Another thought came: "That I was the 
youngest member of the class, beside which, President 
Matthew Simpson is the leader and none of your class 
ever claimed to have obtained such a state of grace, 
and it will savor of pride for you to make such a pro- 
fession ; besides this, it will be better for you to wait 
awhile and see if you can live a life consistent with 
such a profession, and let your life testify to that 
high attainment." This seemed reasonable and I 
went to class, told my usual experience, and set down, 
but 0! such condemnation and darkness as fell upon 
me I had never felt before since my conversion. I 
earnestly asked the Lord to show me the cause. Faith. , 
f ul to His promise he sent His Holy Spirit which said, 
"you did not confess what I did for you last night." 

I sought for the restoration of the blessing at many 
times afterward, but though I sometimes hoped I had 
received it, I never obtained a clear evidence of the 
fact until the period which will be referred to in the 
proper place. I think that if I could have had proper 
instruction and encouragement on that subject at that 
time I should not have lived so long destitute of that 
feature of salvation to the uttermost. Though I was 
surrounded with some of the ablest Methodist min- 



40 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

isters and members of the age I seldom heard it 
referred to in a sermon, and do not recollect to have 
heard any one give clear testimony to its possession, 
until I sought again most earnestly, and I obtained 
the clear evidence that I was " cleansed from all 
unrighteousness," having entered upon a solemn 
covenant with God, that if he would restore to me the 
joy of that great salvation I would profess, confess, 
and preach it. I am certain that I never saw anyone 
invite christians to come forward to seek that great 
blessing until I did it in J 853. 

It seems to me now, when I look back upon the 
men and means with which 1 have been associated, 
that these things ought not to have been so. I write 
these things not to reproach those noble men who 
preached to me the gospel in my early life, but to 
admonish myself and others of the present day not to 
fail to seek the blessed experience of entire sancti- 
fication, until they obtain it ; and then, by every 
rational means, urge others to seek it, giving them 
the same opportunities to do so as have proved most 
effectual in bringing sinners to Christ for pardon and 
regeneration, and (where they have been used) in 
bringing Christians to the attainment of this perfect 
state (not degree) of grace. I am satisfied that if this 
was the general practice, as well as the faith of the 
church, there would be more in it who would experi- 
ence, profess, and live in that blessed state of grace. 
Then would there be less coldness, less strife and con- 
tention; and more faith, love, peace, joy and fruit in 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 41 

the church, and it would have greater power over the 
world. 

During my first year in the University J. H. Hull, 
an able and faithful man, was pastor of the M. E. 
Church. 



42 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



OHAPTEK IV. 

MY SECOND YEAR IN" THE UNIVERSITY AND THE NORTH 
INDIANA CONFERENCE. 

During my second year in the University J. C. Smith 
was pastor of the church at Greencastle. He was a 
scholarly man, a very faithful pastor, an able and 
sometimes a powerful preacher, but generally con- 
sidered rather dull in his manner for those times of 
lightning and thunder. The faculty of the University 
was — Matthew Simpson, president ; Wm. 0. Larrabee, 
professor of mathematics; Cyrus Nutt, professor of 
Greek; John Wheeler, professor of Latin; Charles 
Downey, natural sciences, and Joseph Tingley, tutor 
and instructor in vocal and instrumental music. We 
had a fine lot of students for the times, and the 
faculty was excellent. 

I considered myself highly favored to be thus sur- 
rounded. During this year I worked some nearly 
every day at my trade in the shop of Mr. Walls, to 
give myself healthful exercise and to assist in paying 
my way. I also went out into the country near the 
residence of Wm. H. Good, presiding elder of the 
district, to exhort and to superintend a Sabbath school. 
By so doing I became intimate with that excellent 
man and minister and with his model family. To sit 
under the instruction of and to be associated with 
such persons as these I have mentioned was a constant 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 43 

benediction. Especially is this true of having Presi- 
dent M. Simpson as my class leader, the best I ever 
saw. When any of the professors could not attend a 
recitation in any class that class considered it an 
especial favor to have the president instruct them. 

During the winter of this collegiate year there was 
one of the most glorious revivals of religion I ever 
witnessed. It commenced by a series of services held 
by the pastor of the charge and members of the 
faculty, in the college chapel, for some time with little 
apparent effect. I roomed in the college building 
with two young men (Heatley and Frampliter), janitors 
of the building, for whose salvation I became espe- 
cially anxious. I obtained permission of the faculty to 
hold a prayer meeting in an upper room of the college 
building each morning at six o'clock while the pro- 
tracted meeting continued. I had this announced in 
the congregation at the evening meeting, and the next 
morning about thirteen students assembled, among 
whom were my room-mates and two other unconverted 
young men. After reading the bible, singing and 
prayer, I exhorted those present who had not the 
knowledge of their pardon and regeneration to come 
forward to a seat which I designated and seek salvation. 
All present who were unconverted came and kneeled 
at that seat deeply convicted, and all others present 
kneeled with them and engaged in prayer. The meet- 
ing continued for just an hour. Before it closed I 
asked any of those who came forward seeking to tell 
us if they were blessed. Heatley gave clear testimony 



44 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

of his conversion. Each of the others spoke, saying 
that they were not yet satisfied, but that they 
intended to seek until they found the Saviour. We 
closed realizing that it was good for us to be there. 
The next morning and each succeeding one, the room, 
was well filled and at each meeting more or less were 
converted, until [all seemed to feel that the place was 
sacred. The first report of the results of this morning 
meeting greatly encouraged the evening meetings, 
and after a few days conversions began to occur in the 
chapel and at afternoon meetings at Mrs. Larrabee's 
female seminary until the whole town was ablaze with 
revival fire. The morning meetings were continued 
for some time in this upper room after they were dis- 
continued in the chapel, and several were converted 
therein. 

After the meetings had continued in the chapel 
until it seemed that the people generally must be 
about tired out, and that nearly all in attendance 
must be converted, though the attendance was large ; 
after Professor Nutt had preached, the preachers on 
the rostrum, were consulting whether or not to have 
altar services. Just then, while a breathless silence 
pervaded the congregation, doubtless occasioned by 
the suspense of waiting the decision of the ministers; 
a young man, well known to all as a remarkably calm 
and quiet man, who, during the series of meetings, 
had resisted every effort to get him to move for 
salvation, broke out in exclamations of Glory! Glory! 
Glory! and clapping his hands. This sent such a 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 45 

thrill through the congregation, I think, as is seldom 
felt. The consultation was soon ended and the in- 
vitation to the altar extended, and it was literally 
crowded with earnest seekers, many of whom were 
converted ere the meeting closed. When an oppor- 
tunity was given, young Washburn, who had so 
unceremoniously broken up the consultation, explained 
that, while it was going on, he made up his mind that 
if invited he would go forward, when, quick as 
thought, glory so filled his soul that he could not 
suppress exclamations of Glory! I hardly need say 
that, after this explanation, I never heard of the 
faculty arraigning him for disturbing the meeting. 

On the Sabbath after the protracted meeting closed 
we had a sacramental meeting such as I never ex- 
pect to see equaled, until I, with all the sacramental 
hosts, drink the wine new with the Master in His 
kingdom. 

After, apparently, all who would had partaken, 
Dr. Simpson arose, and in his inimitable manner 
invited any poor trembling seeker of salvation who 
might be present to come and partake the emblems of 
the broken body and shed blood of Christ, explaining 
the appropriateness of so doing so clearly that none 
could reasonably doubt. Several came, among whom 
was Thomas Lowery, who, kneeling at one extremity 
of the altar, in taking the emblems received by faith 
the salvation purchased by the shed blood and rejoiced 
in God his Saviour. Thomas Lowery soon afterward 
left the world in triumph. This was a remarkable 



46 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

seal of God's approval of the act both of administering 
the sacrament to and of its reception by penitent 
seekers of salvation. 

After the revival was passed and the usual lull had 
come, one Sabbath evening when J. 0. Smith had 
preached and the congregation was nearly all asleep 
or as near it as possible, he asked Dr. Simpson to close 
after him. He read a hymn, and, contrary to his usual 
habit, closed his hymn-book over the index finger of 
his left hand and began to exhort, and with over- 
whelming power soon brought the whole congregation 
to their feet, and with bated breath were either 
leaning forward over the seat in front of them or 
pressing into the aisles of the church and toward the 
altar, when he cried out with such a moving voice as 
I have thought none but he possessed, "Yes, precious 
souls, come to Jesus!" And the altar was crowded with 
deeply penitent seekers. 

0! how I regretted, that the church was not ready to 
gather that harvest so wondrously cut down before it! 
But it was so and I relate the circumstance to show 
the power of that man of God, and to admonish all 
Christians to be always ready to pray and work for 
the salvation of souls, as certainly they may be by the 
enabling power of God, which he is always ready to 
bestow for the asking. 

I will give another illustration of Dr. Simpson's 
power to sway an audience. On the return from the 
Mexican war of Colonel James Lane and his brave 
band of soldiers to their home in Putnam county, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 47 

their fellow citizens determined to give them a wel- 
come home. They prepared a large barbecue, with a 
speaker's stand and seats for a large audience in a beech 
and maple grove, for which that country was then 
celebrated. A general invitation was extended and a 
large assembly gathered from the county around, and 
distinguished men from Indianapolis, Terre Haute and 
other places were there; but of all the distinguished 
orators, for which Indiana was then somewhat cele- 
brated, Matthew Simpson, a Methodist preacher, was 
ohosen to make a welcome home address. Just as he 
got fairly under way one of those sudden rain-storms 
for which that country was also famous came up 
threatening to submerge the gay audience in a shower ; 
when the speaker paused and said, " I think the ladies 
of this audience had better go to yonder barn for pro- 
tection." Cries of " Go on! Go on!" came from all 
parts of that vast audience, and the speaker went on 
until the clouds gathered blackness and large drops 
began to fall, here and there, and the speaker again 
paused and cries of "Goon! Goon!" rolled up, and 
the audience being spell-iound upon the words of elo- 
quence and patriotism which fell from his lips more 
perfectly overwhelming them than the storm ceuld 
have done. As if with reference to the patriotic scene 
which confronted it the storm-cloud broke and sepa- 
rated, and while the rain fell apparently profusely on 
the right and left only enough fell upon the audience 
to sprinkle them with a fresh baptism of patriotism. 
On another occasion Dr. Simpson had preached to a 



48 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

very large congregation at a camp meeting one of his 
incomparable sermons, and the presiding eider (Wm. 
H. Good) called on Aaron Wood to preach at three 
o'clock p. m. to about the same audience, when he 
said, "0, I can't preach in the shadow of such a ser- 
mon." Good replied, "If you can't, who can? 
You must preach." All the ministers present sus- 
tained the decision of the presiding elder and Wood 
yielded. He went directly out and spent his time 
until the afternoon service in God's auditorium, and 
and when he returned we beheld his face " as it had 
been the face of an angel," and he preached so that 
none could decide which was the greater sermon, that 
of the morning or afternoon. 

These men and things were only samples of object 
lessons which God, in his kind providence, brought 
before me to mould my whole being so that He might 
use me somewhat to promote His glory and kingdom. 

With all these indeed I am small, 
But Christ, with these, is my all in all. 

During the spring and summer of 1848 I taught 
school in the Brick Chapel neighborhood, boarding 
with the family of Israel G. Lewis. He was a local 
preacher, Hezekiah Smith the preacher in charge, and 
Samuel Cooper, Jr., the assistant preacher, on the 
Greencastle Circuit. Soon after I came I commenced 
a series of meetings, during the time that intervened 
between the appointments of the circuit preachers, 
which occurred only once in two weeks. Before Samuel 



SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 49 

Cooper came around to his appointment I had a 
revival well under way, several having been converted 
and the church members pretty well endowed for the 
work. Although I had not consulted either of the 
preachers, and I was only an exhorter, they did not 
seem to think I had gone outside of my prerogatives 
in commencing a meeting, but joined in heartily, in- 
sisting that I should still keep the lead of the meet- 
ing as I had started and got it under way. The 
meeting continued for about three weeks, and resulted 
in the conversion of many souls . and in greatly ' 
strengthening the church. 

During that summer also Dr. Good, presiding elder, 
urged me to leave the University and enter the con- 
ference at its next session at Greencastle. At first I 
positively refused, saying, I felt it to be my duty to 
remain at the University until I graduated. But he 
urged that I had already a better education than most 
of those then entering the ministry, and that the con- 
ference greatly needed just such young men as I was. 
I said that might be so, but I thought the time had 
come for the M. E. Church to take higher ground in 
regard to educating her ministry, that I needed more 
education than some who were naturally more gifted 
than I, and that I had felt called of God to prepare 
for the ministry and had promised God that if He 
would open the way for me to graduate I would do so; 
that He seemed to have opened the way and I felt it 
was my duty to walk in it. He arranged to take me to 
one of his quarterly meetings down in Park county 
7 



50 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

held in a new barn, and told me he wanted me to preach 
at three o'clock p. m. I said: "I have no license to 
preach." He said: "I now give you license to preach 
at my quarterly meeting; I have heard of your preach- 
ing and now want to hear you do your best. I fear 
you have a little pride of character in regard to 
graduating. It seems to me that the call of God to 
you is through His church, ' Go work today in my vine- 
yard.'" I said that I certainly did not think I was 
moved by pride to desire to graduate, but that if I 
'could think that the Holy Ghost had said to the 
church of me, as He did of Barnabas and Saul, " Set 
them apart for the work whereunto I have called 
them," I certainly would say "Here am I, send me." 
He said, "I believe that is the case." I give the sub- 
stance of our conversation. I yielded to his request 
to preach, and about forty years afterwards at Anti- 
och, California, a brother W. Dunigan told me that 
he heard what Elder Good said was my first sermon. 

Before I came down to the University G. M. Boyd, 
presiding elder of the Fort Wayne district, wanted me 
to then join the conference, and now that brother 
Good urged me to the same, on returning from his 
quarterly meeting, I began to think it might be the 
will of God, thus indicated, acknowledged as much to 
brother Good, who said he had no doubt of it, and I 
yielded. I have since been satisfied that it was a 
mistake, and record this to warn presiding elders and 
young men against making a similar mistake. 

Arrangements were soon made for me to join the 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 51 

Northern Indiana Conference, which I did at its session 
in Greencastle in September, 1848, and I was appointed 
to the Eochester circuit as assistant preacher, P. I. 
Beswick being the preacher in charge, a transfer from 
the Southern Indiana Conference. I purchased a 
horse, saddle, bridle and saddle bags, and started for 
Eochester, Fulton county, calling on J. M. Stallard, 
presiding elder, by the way, obtaining sundry good 
instructions and advice from him, and arrived at 
Eochester the Saturday after the conference closed. I 
stopped at a brother Tyner's, who was a saddler, and a 
steward in our church, of whom I learned that they 
had been anxiously looking for the arrival of a 
preacher, as they had announced preaching at the 
church the next day and had arranged for a wedding 
at brother Tyner's. By this 1 saw I was in for busi- 
ness. I had never looked at the marriage ceremony, 
but got a Discipline of brother Tyner, and as the 
parties to be made one were intimate friends of his, 
I consulted him as to what part of the ceremony I 
should use, went to my room and soon satisfied myself 
that I was at least as well prepared for that as for the 
other services, and improved my time to the best of 
my ability and understanding until the eventful hours 
of the next day arrived. I seemed to go through with 
these and other duties connected with my opening 
work on the circuit, by God's help, in a manner satis- 
factory to the people, but it seemed to me in a very 
feeble manner. I felt very much the need of the aid of 
my colleague, the preacher in charge, and was very 



52 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

glad when he, with his excellent wife, arrived, which 
was about six weeks after ihy arrival. 

J. M. Stallard, the presiding elder, whose wife was 
a sister of the preacher in charge, told me that 
it might be considerable time before his arrival. 
When he came I found him an excellent spirited man 
(though not a great preacher), faithful and true. His 
wife was one of the excellent of the earth, and they 
soon became much like a father and mother to me. 
An amusing incident occurred on my first service in 
the country appointment next after that at Rochester. 
I had preached, and called on a class leader (Ken- 
tuckian by birth), to offer the closing prayer. 
He did so about in the following strain: "0 Lord! 
We thank thee that thou hast sent this our young brother 
to preach to us. Do thou bless him and bless his labors 
among us. Lord ! keep him humble. May he not 
think he knows something, when he knows nothing 
at all," to which the preacher responded heartily, 
Amen. The benediction being pronounced and class- 
meeting held, the class leader invited the young 
preacher to go home with him. The preacher was 
told, " now brother there is the stable with plenty of 
oats and hay, and there (pointing to the trough), is 
water, make yourself at home." I thanked him, 
watered, unsaddled and fed my horse; and, with 
saddle-bags across my arms, I presented myself at the 
door of the house and was told to " come in and make 
myself at home." "Do you want to wash?" Yes, 
sir. " Go right down to yon spring and you'll find a 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEBMOST. 53 

wash dish, soap and towel on a bench ferninst the 
spring; make yourself at home." I made myself at 
home, and on returning from the spring, washed and 
watered, I found a sumptuous dinner, such as Ken- 
tucky families know how to prepare, in waiting, and 
the blessing being asked, we were told, " Take hold 
and help yourself," but we had no opportunity to do 
that for there were plenty of waiters to pile our 
plates full of good things and to pile them all around 
us. Soon after we commenced to eat the class leader 
asked, "Bub, how old are you?" Twenty-four last 
June. "Laws me! I didn't think you's more'n six- 
teen." 

During my service on that circuit that was one of 
my choice homes. During my rest week, however, I 
boarded at Eochester, in the family of brother Lot 
Bozarth. He was county clerk and recorder, of New 
England origin, and was recording steward of the 
circuit. The family was excellent, consisting of 
Bro. Bozarth, wife and little boy; and the father and 
mother-in-law, and a young maiden sister-in-law, 
named Welton. They were all devoted Christians, and 
I did feel when I was with them that I was among 
my Father's children. Here I spent my rest week, 
that is, the ivorking days of one week in four, in 
the close study of theology, while I studied my 
sermons on horseback, and did my general reading 
and that recommended in connection with the theo- 
logical course at my nightly homes on my circuit. 
The circuit consisted of eighteen preaching places, to 



54 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

be filled each once in four weeks by each preacher, 
giving them preaching, class meeting and pastoral 
visiting once in two weeks. 

We held several protracted meetings on the circuit, 
with considerable success in the conversion of souls 
and in strengthening the church. I read Wesley's 
Plain Account of Christian Perfection and some other 
works on the same subject, often preached on the sub 
ject ; I sought it with more or less earnestness but did 
not obtain a clear evidence that I had regained that 
great blessing which had been so richly bestowed upon 
me on that memorable midnight of December 25, 1846. 
Of course, not having a clear evidence that I then 
enjoyed this " Salvation to the Uttermost," I could 
not effectually lead others into it ; but (as some said) 
I did so clearly point out the way that quite a number 
found it, to the joy of their hearts. Among these 
was the wife of my colleague, to whom I acknowledged 
that I did not have the witness of the Spirit that I 
then enjoyed the blessing. She said that my plain 
preaching on the subject had prompted her to seek 
until she obtained the witness of the Spirit that 
she was wholly sanctified. To this she was faithful to 
bear testimony on all suitable occasions, being warned 
by my sad experience of the danger of failing to 
testify. 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 55 



CHAPTER V. 

EXPERIENCE IN THE ITINERACY. 

My second appointment in the itineracy was on 
the Rock Creek Mission, in a new, heavy timbered 
country, south of the Wabash river, Logansport and 
Perry stations being on the opposite side of the river. 
There were fifteen preaching places on this charge to 
be filled once in three weeks. I desired to have an 
appointment as an assistant preacher again, but was 
told that I must take charge of a field hereafter as 
there were so many feeble charges demanding single 
men. J. H. Bruce was my presiding elder ; R. D. 
Robinson was stationed at Logansport, and B. F. 
Winans at Peru. 

With these excellent brethren I enjoyed sweet fellow- 
ship during the year. Held nine protracted meetings 
at which there were one hundred conversions, and 
several professed entire sanctification. Think I stead- 
ily, though doubtless more slowly, grew in grace dur- 
ing the year than I should have done if I had enjoyed 
a clear evidence of loving God with all my heart. For 
this I ardently longed, but having no one to whom I 
could go with confidence for instruction and encour- 
agement on the subject, I did not obtain it, as it seems 
to me now I might otherwise have done. As none of 
my associates in the ministry approached me on the 



56 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

subject, I felt a delicacy (being considerably younger 
than they), in introducing the subject to them. This 
I now deeply regret. If I had asked them for the aid 
I greatly needed through their instructions and 
prayers, it might have been a great advantage to me, 
the recipient, and to them, the givers. I hope my 
younger brethren in the ministry will not commit the 
same error, but will go freely and persistently to their 
elders both for instruction and prayers until they 
obtain the richest possible experience, the highest 
state of Christian life, and the clear evidence thereof. 
This was a very pleasant and not by any means fruitless 
year, and I was informed that there was a general desire 
on the charge that I return for another year, and I 
would have been glad to have done so but the elder 
told me that I was needed for what was then called a 
sub-station and I must move. So on the third year of 
my ministry I was appointed to Covington, the county 
seat of Fountain county. I preached at Covington 
every other Sabbath in the forenoon, went eight miles 
and preached at Wesley Chapel at night, and on 
the alternate Sabbath preached at Covington in the 
morning and at night and in the Nebicher neighbor- 
hood at three o'clock p. m. 

On the 1st day of January, 1851, I was married to 
Miss Elizabeth Thornton in the M. E. church at 
Logansport (R. D. Robins, pastor and cousin to my 
wife), by J. H. Buce, presiding elder. The cere- 
mony took place in the presence of a large audience at 
nine o'clock a. m. The bride had been making her home 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 57 

with her cousin for some time and teaching school. 
She had a widowed mother, an elder sister who was at 
the wedding, named Louisa, a brother Wesley, a sister, 
Amanda M., and another, Sarah Jane (married to T. 
O. Keith). 

Soon after our marriage we returned to Covington, 
and the next week went to the Wesley Chapel and held 
a protracted meeting, at which between forty and fifty 
were converted. This meeting continued longer than 
I had expected and until it was necessary for us to 
leave and commence one in the Nebicher neighbor- 
hood, which I had arranged for (as for the other) 
before my marriage. At this meeting there were over 
thirty conversions. In these meetings and all subse- 
quent ones, as well as in every thing else possible, I 
found my wife a helpmeet indeed, until by failing 
health she was deterred therefrom. We also held a 
protracted meeting at Covington where there were a 
few conversions and the members much revived. This 
was a nice charge, and I was told by G. M. Boyd, pre- 
siding elder, that the people would like to have us 
return, but that he wanted me for another charge, 
where he could not get any other one who could do 
the work as well as I could. 

Though I was a little suspicious of that mysterious 
work, yet, inexperienced as I was, I was simple enough 
to believe that what a presiding elder wanted me to 
4o I had to do. I was appointed to the Ladoga cir- 
cuit, composed of the small towns of Ladoga, Darling- 
ton and Parkersburg, with several other preaching 



58 SALYATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

places to be filled once in two weeks. Soon after I 
settled at Ladoga, the presiding elder informed me 
that there were several old standing difficulties on the 
charge which had quite paralyzed religious interests, 
that a number of ministers had tried but failed to 
settle them, and if I could do it in a year I would do 
a good work. I said I thought it strange that he 
should expect me, with my short experience, to 
accomplish what such men as had preceded me failed 
in. He said it was no stranger than true. " Go to 
work; ask the Lord for wisdom; and if you want any 
advice I will give any I can." I did go to work, and 
did little else except to fill my appointments and 
work at those difficulties, settled them all up, 
apparently to the satisfaction of all except to the 
members who were expelled and to a few relatives. 

I went from the last church trial involved in these 
difficulties at Parkersburg, to my camp meeting, about 
six miles to the northward. To this meeting there 
was quite a general attendance from all parts of the 
circuit, among whom were most of those who had 
been involved in the church difficulties, and a large 
attendance from outside of the circuit. During the 
meeting the old sores were generally healed, the 
churches greatly revived and strengthened, and a 
large number converted and added to the church. 
The presiding elder said the year's campaign was a 
complete victory, and that he should be very glad for 
me to return and enjoy the spoils. 

I had been contemplating a transfer to California, 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 59 

from the time I joined the conference, but brother 
W. H. Good, who, from the beginning, seemed 
strongly attached to me, and to whom I was strongly- 
attached, opposed it, as he desired to be united with 
me in conference relationship. But now the general 
conference had, in the division of our conference, 
severed us, and he had consented to my going to 
California, and had written to Bishop Janes, being 
in charge of that field, recommending my transfer. 
He supposed he had written in ample time for me to 
be transferred before or at our conference, but it did 
not come (as I afterwards learned) because of the 
delay of the Bishop to reach his home at the time 
expected. 

Our oldest son was born on the 19th of February, 
1852, at Ladoga, Indiana. 

On the whole though the year had been one of 
church trials, in which I was about as severely tried as 
as any I knew of, yet it was one of great victory. 

At the conference, held at Terre Haute, Bishop 
Barker ordained me elder in the first-class. I was 
then appointed to Lebanon, a delightful charge, in 
Boone county. We moved directly to the charge, got 
settled in the parsonage, and preached one Sabbath, 
and on the following Monday was reshingling a piece 
of roof of the parsonage when an express letter was 
handed me from Bishop Janes containing my trans- 
fer to California, requesting mo to be in New York in 
a very short time, considering the amount I had to do 
to get there. I studied the matter a little and then 



€0 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

descended from the roof, went into the house, present- 
ing the letter to my wife, saying, "Here's off for Cali- 
fornia." It was evidently not quite as she would have 
then preferred, neither as I woujd, but we both sub- 
mitted as to one of those providences inseparable 
from the itinerancy, and immediately set about prepa- 
rations for travel. Everything seemed to work to our 
hands so that we were soon off visiting friends and 
bidding them good bye, and arrived in the city of 
New York by the time appointed. In crossing Lake 
Erie from Monroe, Mich., to Buffalo, N. Y., how- 
ever, we had a very rough passage on the new steamer, 
"Northern Indiana." When only about half way one 
side- wheel was dashed in pieces by the violence of the 
wind and waves, so that we were propelled the rest of 
the way by one side- wheel, with the rudder working 
against its tendency to keep us going in a circle. Of 
course, we could not make very rapid headway. In 
attempting to get up to the stone pier at Buffalo, on 
account of the violence of the wind and waves we 
seemed for a while to be in danger of being stove onto 
the corner of the pier, when a frightened fellow came 
running through the steamer, crying "We are 
wrecked! We are wrecked!" I was lying across the 
floor of my state room, my feet braced against the 
wall, holding my wife and babe in the lower berth to 
keep them from being thrown out by the pitching of 
the steamer, when this crazy alarm was given. It 
so excited my wife that she cried out, "Get our 
valises," and attempted to spring from the berth. I 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 61 

held to her and said, " My dear, don't be alarmed, if we 
are to go down we don't want any valises," when the 
steamer struck the pier with such violence as to throw 
lamps from their sockets and, of course, to occasion 
much shrieking, but my mind was firmly stayed on God, 
and "kept in perfect peace." In a moment after the 
steamer struck the pier, it scraped along its side a 
little way, stopped, and in a little while we were 
standing rejoicing in safety on the rocky Buffalo pier, 
but rejoicing much more, that our feet were planted 
upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, who was without a peer. 

We were to be sent out to California at the expense 
of the Board of Missions, and the agent arranged for 
us to stay at Dr. Carlton's while in New York city. 
He and his excellent family made us much at home 
while there. On arriving we found that our boat 
would not leave for a week. 

During that time Charles Carlton, being at liberty, 
spent most of the time taking us to the most interest- 
ing parts of the city. We received calls from various 
parties, among whom were Dr. Palmer and wife 
whose call we esteemed very highly. We also at- 
tended the annual reunion lovefeast at the old John 
Street Church. It was the grandest meeting of the 
kind I ever attended. Such hearty amens and shouts 
of praise, I never expected to hear in the city, but Dr. 
Carlton said that was nothing unusual. 

When the time arrived for us to depart, Dr. Reed, 
the missionary secretary, and Dr. Carlton, treasurer, 
and a number of others assembled to see us off and 



•62 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

such kindly words of cheer and affection as they gave 
us, that is Bro. Daniel's wife and two little girls, 
Flora and Emma, Bro. Wm, Willmot and wife, and 
myself, wife and little nine months' old boy, were 
truly affecting. Most of them have gone to glory 
but their kind words and acts will never be forgotten. 
Our trip to Aspinwall on the Isthmus, was made 
safely, though the steamer (called the "Old Illinois"), 
was not very safe or cleanly and was too much 
crowded for comfort In crossing the Isthmus we 
traveled about forty miles on the railroad, thence up 
the Ohagres river, pushed along by poles most of the 
way (being pulled by natives who would jump out and 
wade the stream where it was too rapid to do other- 
wise) about thirty miles to Gorgona. At the term- 
inus of the railroad Brothers Daniels and Willmot 
went about to see to collecting together our baggage 
and to getting some supper, while I proceeded to 
charter a boat suitable to transport our families (to 
whom a Mrs. Mathews, who was going to join her 
husband at Stockton, Cal., was now joined), all which 
being accomplished with no small difficulty, we 
gathered around our festal board with good appetites. 
' Then embarking on our pretty little craft, moved by 
two stalwart- natives and steered by the captain, we 
got under way about as soon as any and thought 
ourselves doing admirably, when our crew ran us 
ashore and waited leisurely until one boat after 
another was passing on and we began to be anxious 
to go and I asked the captain the reason of the 



SALYATIOK TO THE UTTEKMOST. 63 

delay. He replied that he wanted half of the money 
I agreed to pay. I replied that I had only agreed to 
pay one-half when we got to Oruces and the other at 
Gorgona. He said his men wanted their pay and he 
had no money to pay them, and they would go no 
farther without pay. I said I would uot pay until 
they got to Cruces. He shook his head angrily, and 
the balance of our company got frightened and urged 
me to pay. I said it was my opinion that it was a 
scheme to extort money from us and if they saw that 
we were frightened they might demand all we had. 
They said they thought not, that the crew had us in 
their power anyway, and asked "what can you do?" 
The captain sat in the stern and I stood between him 
and his men. I saw in the prow a Mexican broad- 
sword, which I was satisfied was the only deadly 
weapon on board. I deliberately walked forward, 
picked up that sword, turned, faced the captain and 
in a positive voice ordered him to go on. He shook 
his head. I cast my eye down the river and saw quite 
a large boat coming into hearing distance, hailed it 
and said, "Our crew are taking advantage of us and 
we want help." The boat steered toward us, the cap- 
tain ordered his men to go on and they did at such 
rate that we were soon out of sight of our relief -boat. 
Now, in all this, as well as in any act of my life, I 
asked God to guide me. I afterward learned that 
parties had been run ashore in a similar manner, kept 
all night, some obliged to pay an exorbitant amount 
to get through, and others had been robbed of all they 



64 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

had and left to get out of that inhospitable country as 
best they could, and I became satisfied that I had been 
pretty well guided. 

Arriving at Oruces I paid one-half and at Gorgona 
the other, and no more was said by our captain. We 
arrived at Gorgona about two in the morning, rested 
until daylight, and then the men started out to secure 
mules for Panama. We had to hunt until ten o'clock 
A. m. and then pay $25 each, just twice the usual 
price. I hired one for myself, another for wife and a 
native (paying &25 for him) to carry our baby in his 
arms. Had to pay at the time we took possession. 
Standing and holding my mules until wife got ready, 
a large native came and took one of the mules by the 
head, pulling and saying "Mea mula, mea mula." I 
raised a large hickory cane, in a threatening manner 
over my head, when he was taken with a leaving. We 
^11 mounted and started in good spirits for Panama. 

I soon fell into a moralizing mood as to the pro- 
priety of the advice given us at New York by our 
missionary secretary, Keed, to each arm ourselves 
with a good revolver and dirk-knife for protection in 
crossing the Isthmus, saying that, "If we did not 
need them when we got to California, we could sell 
them at an advance price." Father Daniels replied, 
"I do not think that will look well for missionaries," 
and this prevailed. Notwithstanding, the secretary 
replied: "If I was going among savage beasts and 
robbers, I should not stop and inquire how it would 
look." With him the officers of the missionary society 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 65 

present agreed. My moralizing was to the effect 
whether we acted wisely. If we did wrong, doubt- 
less God overruled matters so that we were not 
permitted seriously to suffer for it. I was much 
inclined then to think if it was to be done over 
again I should have taken the advice of the secretary, 
trusted in God and kept my powder dry, as another 
noted man advised. 

We were obliged to spend one more night at a way- 
side hotel, on the Isthmus, composed of a very large 
tent with side walls only, with neither roof or floor, 
walls made of canvas, stretched against round posts 
set in the ground, and bunks each wide enough for 
only one person, fastened to the inside of the posts 
one above the other, and two or three blankets in each 
bunk for a bed. When we arrived . all the beds were 
engaged at $2 per night, so that we had to pay $1 per 
night for room in the middle of the tent, on which to 
spread our extra clothing for beds, satchels for pillows, 
for our women, while the men stood sentinel around 
to hold unbrellas over them to protect them from 
little showers of rain, and from the trampling, rush- 
ing masses of humanity constantly surging through 
that tent. 

Thus resting, our jaded women arose early in the 
morning to partake with us a not very sumptuous 
breakfast. Thus refreshed, we mounted our mules, 
when I found that mine had been changed by a native 
muleteer, who had been prompted so to do by an 
animal in the form of man who gave the native ten 
9 



66 SALYATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

dollars for the exchange and rode my mule off. As I 
had a lame one left me, I saw no more of the mule or 
the animal that rode him off. Perhaps it is better 
that I did not, so that this was all ordered by the infi- 
nite Father. 

At last we arrived at Panama and found that our 
steamer (the "Golden Gate"), would not sail for 
four days, which, had we known, it would not have 
been necessary for us to have hurried through so 
rapidly. We spent the time at Panama as well as we 
could in inspecting old abode buildings, and in 
witnessing the sports and religious devotions of the 
natives, and in learning what we could of their country. 
Their sports seemed to be rude and barbarous, and 
their devotions of an idolatrous nature, and their civil 
rights and laws of the same piece. At last the time 
came for us to go aboard of the "Golden Gate," to 
which we were conveyed a part of the way in the 
arms of natives (whose embrace we had not yet learned 
to very highly esteem), and the rest of the way in 
surf-boats. We found this steamer a new one, much 
superior in every respect to the old "Illinois." Its 
officers and crew were good. Captain Patterson was a 
naval officer, of noble bearing, of the Protestant Epis- 
copal faith. On our way up the coast three died, and 
were committed to a watery grave under the Episcopal 
service. The last days of our voyage were exceed- 
ingly rough and stormy. 

On entering the Golden Gate the windward side of 
the awning over the promenade deck gave way, and it 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 67 

blew up in the form of a tremendous sail, overcoming 
the power of the rudder, and we were being driven by 
wind and wave towards rough and rugged rocks. The 
awning was cut away, the engine reversed, bunks of 
steerage passengers cut down, and with oil cast into 
the fire raising the steam as high as was safe ; and, 
with all that, our noble steamer seemed to hang as if 
suspended, for about twenty minutes, between the 
power of the wind and waves driving her onto the 
rocks, only about her length from them, and the 
power of the mighty engine driving her back. At 
last the engine got the advantage, and the steamer 
backed off until we could get headway under control 
of the rudder, and we rounded into the harbor of San 
Francisco, feeling the deepest gratitude to Him who 
holdeth the winds and the waves in His hand, who had 
said " Hitherto shalt thou come," and, "here shall 
thy proud waves be stayed." We landed upon Long 
Wharf, San Francisco, Cal., Dec. 18, 1852. Here we 
were met by missionaries, Reverends William Taylor, 
now Bishop of Africa, and S. D. Simonds, then a 
pastor in San Francisco. 



68 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ITINERACY IN CALIFORNIA. 

Our last chapter left us on Long wharf under the care 
of the Reverends William Taylor, then of the Seamen's 
Bethel and street preacher of San Francisco, and of S. 
D. Simonds, of Powell Street Church, the same place. 
When we landed it had been raining almost constantly 
for six weeks and nearly all the low valley lands were 
flooded. The waters were so high that it was almost 
impossible to get around into the country. Our guides 
took us to a private boarding house where we could get 
board at the low price of fifteen dollars per week, 
which did not seem very low to us who had come from 
where we could get better board for one and a half 
dollars. But this was the Golden State. Here we 
remained from the 18th of December until the 25th, 
1852, when we took a small steamer for Alviso where 
we boarded a six-horse stage for San Jose, distant 
eight miles. 

We had not proceeded thus more than one mile 
when the stage mired down, and the driver mounted 
one of the horses, taking my wife on in front of him, 
which he informed me was the California style for 
safety. I mounted another horse, took our babe in 
my arms, and thus we proceeded toward San Jose. 
We had not gone far when the horse that the driver 
and wife was riding overreached, stepping his hind 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 69 

foot onto the front, and down he went, pitching his 
load over his head. The load was soon gathered up 
out of the mud and water, into which it had been 
plunged, and reshipped, but the craft soon made a 
similar lurch, when the captain called for another 
craft on which he made a safe voyage to San Jose, 
bringing to harbor all his passengers amid a heavy rain 
and wind storm. 

Arriving at the Morgan House we found a fine fire 
in the large fire-place in the sitting-room. A Mr. and 
Mrs. Moody furnished us with a change of dry cloth- 
ing. By the time we had made the change and 
# were warm enough to eat an excellent repast was 
spread before us, and I think we never ate a supper 
with greater gratitude to the Giver of all good, than 
at eleven o'clock p. m., December 25, 1852. 

The next morning, being Sabbath, we arose feeling 
quite well in body, soul and spirit ; took food for each of 
these God-given natures, and about ten o'clock (the 
morning being pleasant) I started out to hunt a place 
of divine service. I had a letter of introduction to 
Prof. Kimberlain, who was the principal of what was 
then the beginning of the University of the Pacific 
consisting of a school taught in a very unpretentious 
building in San Jose. I sought and found his resi- 
dence, presented my letter of introduction, and he 
said, "lam glad to see you, Brother Hazen. Oar 
pastor (Wm. J. Mackey) went to Santa Clara last 
week to be married, and the waters are so high he 
could not return. A congregation will be out at our 



70 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

church and we want you to preach to us." With my 
shirt (which had been wet the night before) now dried, 
crumpled and ruffled (not in the most artistic style), 
I did preach my first sermon in California, from Col. 
i, 28 : " Whom we preach, warning every man and 
teaching every man, that we may present every man 
perfect in Christ Jesus." 

We had a gracious season in preaching Christ and 
in the class-meeting directly afterward. Many of 
those who worshipped in that little church (with their 
pastor and his then blooming bride), are gone up to 
worship in " that temple not made with hands." On 
Monday we went out to P. I. Keith's, where we re- 
mained (about four miles from San Jose), making our 
home there on his new farm until the session of the 
California Annual Conference, the first held by a 
bishop. It was held in San Francisco, February, 
1853. Bro. Keith was our brother-in-law, having 
married my wife's sister, Sarah Jane Thornton. 

They made our stay with them very pleasant indeed. 
During that time I went out through the Santa Clara 
Valley, hunting up the people and preaching to them 
wherever I could get a dozen or more together. Our 
conference was held by Bishop E. R. Ames and con- 
sisted of thirty-seven members. 

We had a very interesting session and I was 
appointed to Napa and Suisan circuit, embracing all 
of Napa and Suisan valleys. James W. Brier had been 
my predecessor and he represented the work as in a 
very flourishing condition. I found it so, but mainly 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. ?1 

in prospect! He advised me to ship my goods to 
Benicia, from which I could easily get a team to take 
them to Napa city. Not knowing anything of the 
situation I shipped according to his advice, but found 
on getting to Napa I could not get a team to go after 
them, and that I could have shipped them directly to 
Napa for about what it cost to Benicia, twenty miles 
away. I was obliged to get a small row-boat, and 
with a brother Squib went to Benicia for them. In 
making the trip we came near being drowned, doing 
what experienced sailors at Benicia said they could 
not be hired at any price to undertake. On the day 
after we *left Napa (toiling almost constantly in row- 
ing), about the middle of the afternoon, brother S. 
gave out, and we went ashore about seven miles below 
Napa. Brother S. said we were only about three 
miles from where he had two men plowing, that he 
would go and send them to help me up to the city. 
After waiting for this help until about sundown I 
concluded it was not coming, and the head wind and 
tide, against which we had been struggling, having 
somewhat abated, I concluded I would make an effort 
to round a point just above me, which, if I could do, 
I believed I could make way toward Napa. I loosed 
the bow-rope and started, but a fresh gust striking the 
boat I was whirled around and was being rapidly car- 
ried toward the wider arm of the bay where I knew 
I should be in great danger of being capsized. In 
this dilemma I struggled hard in prayer and with 
oars and brought my boat near to an island, when^ 



72 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

catching the bow-rope, I sprang to the shore and 
brought the boat to land. There I remained until 
the wind ceased ; the tide turned in my favor, when I 
started again for Napa, this time with success. 

When within about five miles of the city a large 
animal appeared suddenly upon the shore and reared 
up on his hinder parts, just a little below me. I 
struck the water with my oars and pulled with all the 
strength in me; the animal plunged into the river, 
swam across, I said good bye, and pulled on. I 
arrived at Napa about two o'clock next morping, 
somewhat wearied, having been gone and in almost 
continued toil for forty-eight hours, tied my boat to 
the shore, and went to brother Squib's residence, where 
I found my wife with face and body so swollen from 
poison-oak that I could scarcely recognize her, from 
which she had been suffering extremely since the day 
we parted. I returned and unloaded the boat, then 
to the bed-side of my wife, where I watched and 
nursed her until she was able to be moved into an 
upper room of a brother J. Trubody's warehouse, 
which was the best we could get for a residence at 
that time. 

I bought a Spanish pony, saddle and bridle, and bor- 
rowed another for wife, on which we made our first 
trip to Suisan. I preached on Sunday to quite a 
good congregation in an old log school house, and we 
remained and had quite a nice visit. Then, on our 
return trip, we paused on the ridge between Suisan 
and Napa, surveyed with the eye our field of labor, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 73 

and I asked : " Lizzie, since our money is all gone and 
we have nothing at home to eat, what shall we do? " 
She replied: " We'll trust in the Lord." We bowed 
there, committed all to " Him who careth for us," 
and went on. On arriving at home we found a one 
hundred pound sack of flour, a nice ham of meat, a 
sack of potatoes and other things, just such as we would 
have ordered, laying against our door. We removed 
them so that we could enter, went in, thanked God, 
and took courage. I went to the postoffice and found 
the following lines : " Sister Hazen, please accept the 
things at your front door. ' Trust in the Lord, for in 
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength/ " 

We never learned who brought these things, but 
were quite sure that the Lord sent them. 

We find only one class organized on this circuit, 
that in the Kellog neighborhood, in the upper part of 
Napa valley. We find only one Methodist family in 
Napa City, that of brother Squib. We remain on the 
charge for over two years, the conference years being 
lengthened. We organized classes, one at Suisan, one 
at Napa City and one in Harton's neighborhood. 
Having some conversions at each class, quite a number 
at Suisan and Kellog's, receive quite a number into 
the church on probation and by letter at each point. 
We build a parsonage at Napa City (mostly with my 
own hands), build quite a neat church at Kellog's, 
another at Suisan, and near the close of our term 
raise quite a subscription for building at Napa, leav- 
ing no debt on church property. 



74 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

During my first year in California I became awakened 
to the importance of settling the question of my entire 
sanctification. Sometime in August, 1853, after I had 
retired to my room in the chamber of Bro. Wm. 
Turner, in Suisan valley, I determined that I would 
not go to bed until that question was settled. There 
I continued to wrestle with God until after midnight ; 
when a voice spake within (which I recognized as the 
voice of the Spirit), saying, "The blood of Jesus 
Christ, His Son, cleanseth from all sin." I felt (0, how 
sensibly!) its cleansing power going all through my 
body, soul and spirit. And then came the fullness 
of glory and of G-od, pervading also my whole being. 
But this was not until, most solemnly, I had promised 
God that if he would restore to me that great salva- 
tion I would faithfully testify and preach it to others. 
On receiving the blessing I went down and rapped at 
the door of Brother and Sister Turner's sleeping-room 
and told them what God had done for me. They 
exclaimed, "Praise the Lord!" and I returned to my 
room, went to bed and slept sweetly. 

The next morning (being Sabbath), though I had 
intended to have preached on another subject, I 
preached entire sanctification, and told the congrega- 
tion what God had done for me. Though I had often 
preached about it before I am quite certain I never 
preached sanctification as I then did. I have ever 
endeavored to keep my covenant to testify to and 
preach entire sanctification, but in time I lost the 
assurance that I was wholly sanctified, and by the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 75 

teachings of the Word and Spirit, became convinced 
that it was because (feeling strong) I became too self- 
reliant instead of relying upon God alone to keep me. 

At our conference in 1855 we were appointed to 
Iowa and Wisconsin Hill charge, where we remained 
for two years. This was a very interesting field of 
labor, being in a prosperous mining locality in Placer 
county. We had quite good church buildings at both 
Iowa and Wisconsin Hills, and quite a good member- 
ship for the times. We soon built and got into a good 
parsonage at Iowa Hill. I preached at Iowa Hill each 
Sabbath morning in the church (at eleven), on the 
street at about one o'clock p. m., at Shaw's Flat at three 
o'clock p. m. on one Sabbath and at Independence 
Hill on the alternate Sabbath ; and at Wisconsin Hill 
each Sabbath night. Also went out and preached at 
various mining camps on week evenings. 

We had revivals most of the time, and some of the 
most precious seasons of revival I ever witnessed. On 
Christmas of the second year nearly the whole of Iowa 
Hill, with our church building, burned down. We 
bought a frame and had lumber on hand to build a 
Congregational Church, and finished it up for ours. 
We, with a number of our members, went to a camp- 
meeting near Nevada City and assisted in starting 
and carrying forward one of the best revivals I ever 
witnessed. The people there as well as the preachers 
present gave us the credit of starting and largely 
of carrying it forward. I had the best working land 
on my charge I ever saw. Went to Yankee Jim's (the 



76 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

hardest place in the State according to the acknowl- 
edgement of its own citizens), and had a glorious 
revival, completely revolutionizing the place. 

Toward the close of my term at Iowa Hill I was 
over to Nevada City, and some of the official mem- 
bers wanted to know if I would consent to go there 
the next year. I told them I would, and they proposed 
to get up a petition for me to be sent there. I said I 
preferred they would not do that, as I thought it con- 
trary to the Methodist economy, and they better make 
known their wishes through the presiding elder, 
the appropriate officer to attend to such matters. 
They said then they would not get up a petition, 
though they had no doubt but all would sign it if one 
was circulated. 

During the conference, September, 1857, my presid- 
ing elder came and said to me: "Bro. Hazen, you are 
wanted to go to Yreka, as it is an important field, and 
there are peculiar difficulties which it is thought no 
one at command can meet as well as you. The Bishop 
wanted me to ask you if you are willing to go." I 
replied, "I am willing to go anywhere in the con- 
ference where I and my wife can live and work, but 
that is too high up in the mountains for my wife to 
live." He said, "0 no it is not in the mountains at all, 
but in a beautiful valley." I said, "That may be, but 
there are beautiful valleys high up in the mountains. 
That is the case with Yreka.' ' Doctors had said 
Iowa Hill was too high above the sea-level for my wife 
to live ; that Yreka was much higher, and I did not 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 77 

want to take her there for fear I should lose her, or 
her health would be ruined. He said, well, then 
you will not be appointed there, certainly ; but, when 
my appointment was read out, it was for that place. 
I made up my mind that it was not my duty to go, 
went to Benicia where my wife was and told her so. 
She said if you are appointed to Yreka, we will go if I 
die on the way or after I get there. I could not resist 
such a decision and we went, going around the Tit 
Eiver route, with a mule and buggy, because it was 
thought she and our babe (with chronic diarrhea) could 
not stand the nearer route, including much travel on 
horse-back. We went through a country infested with 
Indians which the officer at a fort on the far end of 
the route said were exceedingly dangerous. We went 
through (in the kind providence of God) without 
death, or serious accident. 

Soon after our arrival at Yreka (while at the hotel), 
both of our children were taken sick, and for a time 
hung between life and death. I and wife nursed them 
day and night until they got better, when she took 
sick, but (as I think by divine interposition) all 
recovered, and after about six weeks (after our 
arrival), we rented and settled in a house by ourselves. 
Soon we bought and moved into our parsonage. At 
first the people were very shy and distant, but soon 
became as friendly as we ever saw, and very generous. 
We were told that this was because we had gained 
their confidence, which was the special object indicated 
by my presiding elder before I came. The congrega- 



78 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

tions were excellent, and after the first sickness was 
over, Mrs. H. kept better during the year than we 
expected. 

As all were anxious we should remain another year 
we consented, and at the conference it was so arranged. 
Before the conference closed, however, I received a 
dispatch that Mrs. H. was sick and I immediately 
started home, found her quite sick, and she continued 
so until I was ordered by physicians, the next spring, 
1859, to take her below as the only hope of saving her 
life. For three months she had been able to sit up 
only a small part of the day, and now physicians told 
me that it was their opinion that she could not live 
the summer through in that rare atmosphere ; that it 
was possible that she might survive a trip below. 
With this information I fixed up my buggy as com- 
fortably as possible, and took her as far as I could, 
when we had to make forty miles on mule back, then 
forty by stage to the head of steam navigation on the 
Sacramento river. This was made and all alive, but 
much exhausted, when we took a stateroom on a 
steamer where I could much better care for the sick 
than on mule back. 

We made the balance of the trip to Santa Clara 
quite comfortably, accomplishing a journey of about 
three hundred miles. Here I left my family, con- 
sisting of wife, a son, seven years old the February 
before, and a daughter three the April before, at the 
home of her uncle, L. Robinson, and made my way 
back to my charge to fill out my term of service there. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 79 

I can say this term of service (as witnessed by as 
intelligent an official board as I ever had), was quite 
successful. But it was one to me of tremendous cost. 
Taking my wife to Yreka (according to testimony of 
numerous physicians as well as my own judgment), 
was the cause of so deranging her whole system, that 
from being one of the best helps a woman ever was 
to a minister of the gospel, she was entirely disabled 
to do the work. I consider her a living martyr to a 
sad mistake. And as a consequence, having an invalid 
wife to care for instead of one who (as before) could 
care for me, and wonderfully help me in my work, 
that work has not been what it might have been. I 
can but ask the question: Has the living down of the 
prejudice which existed against the ministry at Yreka 
(which I was informed I was sent there to do), paid 
the cost? It is possible it mighty if there had been no 
other one who could have done it, without such cost. My 
work being done there I literally tore myself away 
from a loving and dearly loved people, and made my 
way to conference, where I was appointed to Watson- 
ville, September, 1859. I then joined my family at 
Uncle Kobinson's, where I helped nurse my little 
daughter through a severe course of scarlet fever, and 
then took my family to my charge. Here we finished 
up our parsonage, held a camp meeting at which the 
membership was almost doubled, and our return was 
asked (as my presiding elder told me) unanimously. 
On the 1st of January, 1860, our daughter, Sarah 
Josephine, was born at Watsonville. On account of 



80 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

the deleterious effects of the fogs at Watsoaville upon 
my wife's health we were sent to Sonora, Tuolumne 
county, September, 1860. Here we spent two years 
very pleasantly and in successful labor, except as Mrs. 
H. was a large part of the time dangerously ill. 
Several times I had to watch by her bedside for weeks 
together, fearing she would die; sometimes Dr. 
Whaley remaining with me all night. He said her 
troubles were so complicated that she probably never 
could be cured so that she would not be a great suf- 
ferer. Said also that he did not see how I could go 
on with my work in the ministry with all I had to do 
and bear. That when he listened to me preach, did 
not see how or when I prepared my sermons, and that 
I must prematurely break down if the strain on my 
nervous system to which I was then subject continued. 
The limit of my term at Sonora being reached, we were 
sent to Grass Valley, September, 18 H2. This was far 
the heaviest charge I ever had, and here for the first 
time I found my nervous system giving way, and 
sleepless nights, with hard labor, slowly but surely, 
undermined my strong constitution. At the confer- 
ence, (September, 1863,) the presiding elder told me 
that there were objections tb my return to Grass 
Valley which he thought made it not advisable that I 
should do so, yet that if I thought it best he would 
send me back. I said with that understanding I could 
not take the responsibility of going back. I then said 
to I. Owen (presiding elder of the San Francisco dis- 
trict and my most confidential adviser), that I thought 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 81 

on account of Mrs. Hazen' s health I had better take a 
location and try to get into some business in which I 
could better care for my family. He said, "Bro. 
Hazen that won't do ; you had better build a house on 
your lot in Santa Clara, settle Sister Hazen and the 
children there for a while, where she can have 
a quiet home too far from your work for the people 
you serve to expect to visit her or to be visited 
by her, so she will be free from the cares and 
excitements of a charge." He said also that he would 
like for me to take the Santa Clara circuit (then com- 
posed of Berryessa, Evergreen and New Almaden), where 
I could do a good work in restoring that charge to a 
good condition. That looked fair and I said, " Well, 
if you think that is best, all right." The arrange- 
ment was made accordingly. 

On returning to Grass Valley I found that Bro. J. 
A. Bruner had been appointed there with the under- 
standing that he would not move his family there, that 
the official members had met and resolved not to re- 
ceive him, and requested me to remain and serve 
them another year. They also assured me that they 
all wanted me to return except one member, and that 
he had sold out and was about to leave. I said I was 
very sorry that was not known at the conference, but 
as it was not I had been appointed to the Santa Clara 
circuit and must go there, and I thought they had 
better receive their preacher with open hearts and 
arms and all would be well. They stood firm, how- 
ever, to their purpose not to receive Bro. Bruner. I 
11 



82 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

should by no means refer to these things but to warn 
members not to interfere with the appointments of 
preachers after all have gone to conference, where the 
facts cannot be fully canvassed, and to warn presiding 
elders to beware how they regard such interference. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 83 

CHAPTER VII. 

ITINERACY IN CALIFORNIA. 

We closed our last chapter with a remark in regard 
to our change from Grass Valley *to the Santa Clara 
circuit. To that we would add that after forty years 
experience and observation in the itineracy, a part of 
the time as a presiding elder, we are satisfied that no 
charge, member, or members of a charge ought to 
send on to an annual conference a representation of 
the wishes of their charge as to the return of a minis- 
ter or of his removal, after he has left for the con- 
ference session, unless a cause or causes for a change 
of their wishes has come to their minds since they 
had time or opportunity to communicate the same to 
the elder in time for him to investigate the question 
on the charge, where the facts may be examined. 
That if the appointing power regards a request for 
such a change, without full assurance of a necessity, it 
is liable to do great injury either to the minister or 
to the charge, perhaps to both. With these words 
we do not intend to farther refer to any case which 
may have occurred in our experience or under our 
observation. 

During our pastorate on the Santa Clara circuit, 
consisting of two years, a gracious revival occurred at 
Berryessa greatly strengthening the society in numbers 
and spirituality, and some at New Almaden. We 



84 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

built a neat church at the latter place. The night 
after the assassination of President Lincoln our church 
was burned down by an incendiary at Berryessa. The 
next Sabbath we preached to a very large congregation 
a memorial sermon for our martyred President, stand- 
ing upon a corner of the stone wall from which our 
church was burned. • 

During the summer we collected money and built a 
much better church, furnished and paid for it at the 
dedication. It was dedicated by the Bishop who attend- 
ed our conference in September, 1865. At that 
conference I was appointed to Santa Cruz. I. Owen 
was my presiding elder, but died in the year, and at 
the next conference Adam Bland took his place. I 
went to my charge leaving my family in Santa Clara, 
renting the parsonage to Bro. P. Wilkinson and board- 
ing with him and wife. Attempted to hold protracted 
meeting several times during the year but every time 
it was rained out. The congregations were good and 
the general interest well sustained. 

At the conference, September, 1866, I was returned 
for another year, with the understanding that I take 
my family there which I did. We soon commenced 
holding cottage prayer meetings each night, which in 
three weeks grew so that we were obliged to commence 
meeting in the church. These lasted five weeks, 
resulting in the conversion of eighty-five souls, a 
gracious revival of the membership with a little more 
than doubling the members during the year. 

From the time I so wonderfully experienced perfect 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 85 

love, in 1853, for a number of years (about ten), I re- 
tained a pretty clear evidence of living and growing in 
that grace, when I seemed to become too self-confident, 
failed to trust God to keep me, and gradually lost that 
state of grace. Daring this year I became fully 
awakened to this fact, and began earnestly to seek a 
restoration, but did not receive a clear and satisfactory 
evidence thereof. 

In September, 1867, I was appointed to Bloomfield, 
Sonoma county. This charge consisted of Bloom- 
field, Valley Ford and Weises. On being appointed 
to this charge I was informed that it was dead, 
buried, and that I was expected to dig it up 
and raise it from the dead. Wm. J. Mackey was 
my presiding elder. On becoming acquainted 
with the charge, I was satisfied that it had not 
been misrepresented, and set myself to work in 
the name of the living God to accomplish my pur- 
pose. I held protracted meetings at each of the three 
appointments and at each of them had precious revivals, 
more than doubling the membership. When I had 
been there about nine months I received a dispatch 
from Bishop Jaynes to take the Marysville district, go- 
ing immediately to it so as to make one round before 
the conference. We went to work, packed our goods, 
shipped them and my family to our home in Santa 
Clara, and saddled my horse and rode to Marysville 
the place of my first quarterly meeting. 

During this conference year I had been still plead- 
ing for the restoration of perfect love with its assur- 



^86 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

ance. When I received the dispatch appointing me to 
the district I said, " 0, Lord, I cannot assume this new 
work, with its responsibilitites, without this perfect 
grace. " It seemed to me that a voice spoke within, 
"Trust me and it shall be given.' ' I believed 
from that moment, without a doubt, that I should not 
enter upon my new work without that grace, and just 
as I entered the room where my first quarterly meet- 
ing was to be held, looking for it, it came with great 
power and assurance. Then I resolved to be more 
faithful than ever in testifying and preaching it to 
others and to trust God to keep me therein, and He 
has blessedly kept me. 

During the three years and a quarter while on the 
district, on all occasions when I felt it to be duty 
(which was almost constantly) I testified to and urged 
others to seek this great salvation. 

At the second conference after I went to the district, 
and from that onward, so many of the preachers gave 
clear testimony to the experience of entire sanctification 
that the remark was made the whole district was 
sanctified. I replied I am sorry to say not quite. 

In addition to regular official duties, I spent much 
time in assisting pastors in camp and protracted meet- 
ings, wherein we had gracious revivals, many being 
converted and many wholly sanctified. Among the 
latter were many of our ministers as well as members. 
Having been on the district as long as the discipline 
allowed, my wife's health being better at our home in 
Santa Clara than on a charge, it was thought best that 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 87 

I should take such charges as I could serve and let my 
family remain where they were. Accordingly I was 
appointed to Mokelumne Station, September, 1871. 
Here I preached at Mokelumne each Sabbath morn- 
ing, at the White Chapel in the afternoon and at 
Woodbridge at night. Held a joint camp-meeting 
with the Southern Methodists and the United Breth- 
ren. At that meeting a large number were converted 
and many sought and obtained . entire sanctification. 
At my suggestion we held a meeting each afternoon for 
the promotion of scriptural holiness. The ministers 
urged me to take charge of these meetings, which I 
did. Among those obtaining the blessing of entire 
sanctification were the presiding elder of the United 
Brethren, his wife, and the pastor of that church 
and the pastor of the Southern Methodist. 

At the close of my term here I was sent to Modesto, 
September, 1872. Here I preached at Modesto' Sun- 
day morning and night, and at Adamsville in the 
afternoon one Sabbath and at Crawford's in the 
morning, Oak Dale in the afternoon and at Knight's 
Ferry at night, on the alternate Sabbath. Imme- 
diately on going to the charge we took measures to 
build a church at Modesto, which was finished, dedi- 
cated, and payment all provided for, on the first Sab- 
bath in February, 1873. This was agreed by all to 
have been a wonderfully successful enterprise. Quite 
a number were converted on the charge during the 
year and some wholly sanctified. Though at the close 
of the year (as I was informed by the leading mem- 



88 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

bers) my return was generally desired and expected, 
yet at the conference, September, 1873, I was 
appointed to Oenterville. Here I found but four 
members, Father Marston and wife and brother Baker 
and wife. Father M. soon moved away, leaving me 
only two members; no church, no congregation and 
no possibility of getting anything like a fair number 
for a Methodist congregation. The Presbyterians had 
nearly all the Protestant part of the community. 
They had discharged their pastor for preaching hereti- 
cal doctrines, and he with one member of that church 
had hired a hall and set up for themselves, taking 
nearly all the Protestant part of the community with 
them except a few Presbyterian families who felt 
too poor to hire a preacher. They proposed that I 
should preach in their church and at the Washington 
College, which was under the charge of Eev. Mr. Har- 
mon and wife, at Washington corners, and they would 
pay me what they could for my services. To this I 
agreed. In addition to regular preaching and pastoral 
labors, I held a protracted meeting at which quite a 
number of their children were converted and some of 
their members were wholly sanctified. 

At our conference in September, 1874, I took a 
supernumerary relation. For four months I was 
engaged in agency for various books, and finally for a 
steel plate engraving of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. 
Then I was employed on the Sutter Creek charge, 
made vacant by the resignation of J. W. Stump. 

At the conference, September, 1875, I was appointed 



SALTATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 89 

to Sutter Creek and Amador. Having been so long 
separated from my family, much of the time paying 
for board on my charges and keeping my family at 
home, my expenses had greatly exceeded my income, 
and I had been obliged to mortgage our home until I 
began to fear, if that continued longer, we should lose 
it. I concluded to now move onto my charge. We did 
so and had a prosperous year. 

At the conference, September, 1876, we were sent 
to Placerville, El Dorado county, and returned in 1877. 
During our pastorate here we had quite a revival at 
which quite a number were converted and some 
wholly sanctified, and we left the charge much better 
than we found it. 

The latter part of March, 1878, a discourse was 
delivered by the pastor of the Presbyterian church in 
opposition to secret societies, especially to Free 
Masonry and Odd Fellowship. Soon afterward com- 
mittees of the four lodges of those orders waited 
upon me, requesting me to reply to that discourse. I 
said I could not do that as I was on terms of intimate 
friendship with that pastor and could do nothing 
which might interrupt such friendship. But as they 
insisted I said I might, without any reference to his 
discourse, answer general objections which were urged 
against these societies, and then give reasons why I 
thought they were a benefit to the world. They said 
that was just what they would like. I accordingly 
prepared three lectures and delivered them at Placer- 
ville in April. Vast audiences listened to them and 



90 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

they gave such satisfaction that a resolution of thanks 
was voted, and a request that I would deliver them 
throughout the State wherever I might be invited. I 
said I could not do that, as I would not leave my 
charge to deliver such lectures. I was, however, 
urged to deliver them at three other towns near at 
hand, to which I consented. On returning from the 
delivery of the last of the course, at the last of the 
three towns, I was taken violently sick with a pre- 
vailing epidemic (which physicians had not named), 
which seriously affected the brain, and had killed 
quite a number of persons. Soon after I got home 
this disease took such a hold of me (my brain and 
nervous system being already overtaxed) as to produce 
a slight hemorrhage and a partial paralysis of the 
brain, seriously affecting the whole nervous system, 
according to the decision of physicians. So severe 
was this attack that for a time my life was despaired 
of, indeed I was reported dead, which report got into 
the California Christian Advocate. 

When my physician (A. J. Proctor) told me that he 
thought I could not live long, and if I did that I 
never could do any work (after I so recovered as to 
be able to recognize anything), I calmly resigned all 
to God; but said: "0 Lord,, if it be Thy will, now 
take Thy servant home, but do not let him live to be a 
helpless invalid." Soon I seemed to obtain the assur- 
ance that I should not die but live, and for a while be 
able to preach Christ to a perishing world. I told 
my physician so, and he said : " I cannot see how that 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 91 

can be." From that time I began to amend, and my 
physician said, "as soon as you get well enough to be 
lifted into and out of your buggy and drive ever so 
short a distance in the mountain air, do so, as the 
only means of giving relief or prolonging life, though 
I do not think you can ever do any more work." I 
followed his directions, trusting God ivholly for the 
results, and in about three months came back, 
preached twice each of two Sabbaths, and then went 
to the annual conference, where, September, 1878, I 
was appointed to Point Arena as the best that could 
be done in my then condition. 

On arriving there the first thing I found to be done 
was to line and paper the parsonage. We remained 
here for two years, in which I preached, enjoyed and 
urged all to seek full salvation through the blood of 
Jesus. Held several protracted meetings, with as 
good success as could reasonably have been expected 
under the circumstances. Had not a working mem- 
bership in spirituality. Financially the times were 
hard, the country depending largely upon lumbering 
and the lumbering companies having failed. 

From Point Arena went to Oachville, in Yolo county, 
September, 1880. Here we finished the parsonage, held 
a lengthy protracted meeting, several were converted 
and quite a number professed to obtain perfect love. 
From here we went to North San Juan, Nevada county, 
September 1831. Our removal from Oachville so soon 
was on account of their inability to give a competent 
support, and the unfavorableness of the hot summers 



92 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

for the health of self and wife. Here I preached at 
nine different places. Held several protracted meet- 
ings, at which quite a number were converted and 
others were sanctified wholly. Improved the parsonage 
considerably. 

In September, 1882, were sent to Kentucky street, 
San Francisco. Here we held a protracted meeting? 
had some conversions and some wholly sanctified. 

September 1883, were sent to Los G-atos, Santa Clara 
county; made improvements on church to the amount 
of about $1,100. Had some conversions and quite 
a number sanctified wholly. 

September 1884, I was appointed to Watsonville 
with the understanding that I should not move my 
family there on account of the illness of my wife. 
Went there with my daughter Hattie to keep house 
for me, while I moved the rest of my family to San 
Jose. Worked hard here, but only a few were con- 
verted or wholly sanctified. Collected money and 
had the church nicely painted. 

During the summer of 1885, paralytic trouble (from 
which I had not been entirely free since 1878) began 
seriously to affect me, so that at the conference — 
September 1885 — I was given a superannuated relation 
to the conference. On my way home from that con- 
ference Bro. Gregory, of the Brentwood and Byron 
Charge, asked me to supply for him, while he went 
East to visit friends. I did that for about three 
months, which is the last work I have done in the 
effective work of ministry. At the close of that term 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST, 9$ 

I went to Santa Clara, attained possession of our home 
and went to work fixing up the house, setting out and 
cultivating fruit trees and vines. 

Although I was then fully satisfied that my super- 
annuation was wise, I supposed that I might do all 
the work needed 6n our home of a little less than eight 
acres without injuring me. I soon found I was mis- 
taken in this. When I went to work there (Decem- 
ber, 1885,) I weighed 156 pounds, and was apparently 
physically strong and vigorous. By May, 1886, I had 
declined in flesh to 125 pounds and about in the same 
proportion in strength. Physicians and friends had 
told me that I could not stand that, and I now be- 
came so lame and feeble that I was peremptorily 
ordered away for rest and recreation. I went to my 
nephew's, in the Santa Cruz mountains and stayed about 
a month, and went back much recruited. I went to 
work again, again ran down, again went away and re- 
cruited, returned to work ; and repeated the process 
over and over until May 18, 1887, when a severe shock, 
after a hard day's work in the field, so affected me as 
to render me unconscious from eight o'clock p. m., 
until two o'clock A. m., and made me unable to walk 
without crutch and cane for a month. I have had 
several lighter ones since which seem to render my 
whole system so sensitive to such attacks as to make it 
quite unsafe for me to use much mental or physical 
exertion, as many physicians who have examined me 
declare. 

Amid all these I have been wonderfully blessed 



$4 SALYATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and sustained of God, though I cannot say that I have 
not occasionally given away to wrong feelings, yet the 
ever blessed Spirit has so promptly applied the cleans- 
ing blood as to enable me to i( rejoice evermore." 

Looking around for conquering grace, I am quite 
certain that without such grace, and without the con- 
tinued cleansing whose energy I have constantly 
felt pervading every part of my body, soul and spirit, 
my whole being, that being would have long since 
ceased to live. As it is "I am persuaded that neither 
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to 
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ 
Jesus, our Lord." 



I 



f * 




I. 



PART II. 



AS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE BIBLE AND IN CHRIS- 
TIAN AUTHORS. 



Hebrews, vii, 25. "Wherefore He is able also to save them 
to the uttermost that come unto Gol by Him, seeing He ever 
liveth to make intercession for them." 

Sin has subjected humanity to its penalty, which is death. 
First— Spiritual or the death of the soul. Second — Temporal, 
physical, or the death of the body, and Third— Eternal, or 
the death of the whole manhooi, body, soul and spirit in Hell. 

Salvation to the uttermost implies deliverance from all these 
consequences of sin, including: First, Its guilt and penalty; 
Second, Its corrupting influence; Third, The restoration of 
the sinner to the image or likeness of God, and Fourth , 
Eternal redemption, including, First, The resurrection of the 
body to immortality and an eternal life of glory; Second, 
The reunion of soul and body, and Third, Bringing the whole 
manhood thus saved to the home prepared for it, and for 
which it is prepared, in Heaven. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 97 

CHAPTER I. 

SALVATION OF THE HEATHEN. 

The salvation of humanity, destitute of direct reve- 
lation by the Bible and its institutions, is a subject 
which has deeply interested inquiring minds of the 
church of God from early ages. 

It seems to be but dimly hinted at in the inspired 
volume, and yet with sufficient clearness we think to 
form a good ground of hope, if not to firmly believe 
that many such will be saved. To this subject there- 
fore we direct attention. 

Acts, x, 34, 35. Then Peter opened his mouth and 
said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter 
of persons. 

u But in every nation he that feareth Him and* 
worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." 

It is probable there is no passage in all the Bible? 
which gives better ground of hope for the salvation 
of many in heathen lands than does this. Indeed, 
considering the character of the man with reference 
to whom Peter spake, and the circumstances which 
called forth this utterance, we may conclude that it 
forms an assurance that as many in heathen nations 
as fear God, as far as they know Him, and work 
righteousness, as far as they know what is right, are 
accepted of Him. 

Cornelius was a heathen, though he lived among 
13 



98 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

the Hebrews, or rather the Hebrews lived in Cesarea, 
Cornelius' country. We have no evidence that he was 
acquainted with the Hebrew scriptures, which were 
the only God-inspired revelation then extant. Indeed, 
we have reason to believe that Cornelius knew but little 
if anything of the Hebrew scriptures ; as the Jews of 
that age did not commit their sacred writings or teach- 
ings to any except to Jews and circumcised proselytes ; 
and we have evidence that Cornelius was not such a 
proselyte, inasmuch as if he was, if Peter knew it, he 
would not have hesitated to go to preach to him; and 
if he was a proselyte all his messengers needed to do 
was to assure Peter of the fact to secure his services. 
This being true, the statement of Peter, an inspired 
.apostle, " I perceive of a truth that God is no respecter 
of persons. But in every nation he that feareth Him, 
and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." 

So far was Cornelius accepted of God, that He sent 
his angels, as we are informed in Acts x, 22nd and 31st 
verses, " Cornelius thy prayer is heard, and thine 
alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God." 

No wonder that Peter should conclude that he and 
all like him are accepted of God. And being accepted 
of God, though they had not believed in Christ, having 
never heard of Him, and, having never yet received 
the Holy Ghost because they had not heard even that 
that there was any Holy Ghost, neither had they been 
baptized, yet, inasmuch as they were accepted of God 
and visited by His angels, we cannot reasonably doubt 
but if they had died in this condition a convoy of 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 99 

angels would have borne their spirits to the paradise 
of God. 

If this be the teaching of this case, as God is no 
respecter of persons — doubtless from the nations of 
the past, present and future, who have not the revealed 
word of God, either written or spoken, teeming mul- 
titudes may be going up to swell the number of which 
John had a vision on the Isle of Patmos, which no 
man could number, who, dressed in white, stood around 
the throne of God. 

But this is not the only passage from the inspired 
volume which throws light upon the interesting 
subject. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, ii, 13-15 
says: "For not the hearers of the law are just before 
God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 

" For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, 
do by nature the things contained in the law, these 
having not the law, are a law unto themselves. 

"Which show the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their 
thoughts meanwhile accusing or else excusing one 
another." 

The term law in this passage, and in many other 
passages of the inspired volume, means the revealed 
will or word of the Lord. So doubtless it means also 
in Psalm xix, 7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, con- 
verting the soul." Then as it is said, Romans ii, 13-15, 
"The doers of the law or revealed will of God, are 
justified ;" and that the Gentiles who have not the 
law, show that it is written in their hearts by the 



100 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

direct agency of the Spirit of God, doing the will of 
God as far as they know it, are justified, and conse- 
quently are saved. 

We also seem to obtain a little light as to the salva- 
tion of the heathen, from Acts xvii, 27-29: "That 
they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel 
after Him and find Him, though He be not far from 
every one of us : 

"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; 
as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are 
also His offspring. 

"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we 
ought not to think that the God-head is like unto gold 
or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." 

This address of Paul was to a heathen and idolatrous 
people, a people who had introduced into their worship 
all the gods of all the nations with whom they were 
surrounded ; and probably having heard or read some- 
thing of the God of the Hebrews, or what is more 
likely to some of their poets or philosophers, savants 
or divines, God had, by the dispensation of angels, 
or perhaps by the direct agency of His Spirit, revealed 
His will, as He did to Abraham while He was yet a 
heathen, dwelling in a heathen nation; and as we 
learn by II Peter i, 21: "For the prophecy came not 
in old time by the will "bf man ; but holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 

Doubtless, some of these, from time to time, God 
found among the nations of the earth to whom He 
revealed Himself and His will, with greater or less 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 101 

distinctness, and made them teachers of their fellows; 
while He chose Abraham because of his faith, to whom 
He made Himself a friend ; and through whom with 
his seed, He determined to save the world. 

Through these institutions, thus communicated, 
many doubtlessly obtained a sufficient knowledge of 
God to cause them to fear Him, and to work righteous- 
ness as far as they knew it ; and, according to Peter, 
they are accepted of Him. 

We might quote many other passages of the Bible 
to the same effect, but we think these enough, together 
with the fact that according to the general teachings 
of the blessed volume, where much is given much will 
be required, but where little is given little will be 
required. We may conclude very positively that those 
of heathen nations who live up to the light or knowl- 
edge they have will be accepted and saved. Not only 
does the word of God give us reason to hope for and 
even pretty confidently believe this; but the history 
and the description of the religions of those nations 
which are destitute of the teachings of the Bible tend 
to confirm such hope and faith. 

The little history we have of these nations [shows 
that there are many among them who manifest con- 
siderable knowledge of and reverence for a great and 
supreme being, to whom they recognize themselves 
responsible. Indeed some such might put to shame 
many who have been born and reared in Christian 
lands. 



102 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Some may ask ^hen what is the advantage of Chris- 
tianity and of Christian teaching? 

We answer, much every way. 

First. Doubtless there is a much larger propor- 
tion of those who are born and reared in Christian 
lands, and under Christian instruction, who attained 
to a religious character, live a truly religious life, die 
a peaceful and happy death, and get to heaven, than 
do from heathen lands. 

Second. While it is true that the characters and 
lives of some in heathen lands would shame many in 
Christian lands, yet this is by no means general. 

So far is that from being true of those raised in 
Christian lands, as a general thing it may be truth- 
fully said, as in Psalm cxliv, 15: " Happy is the 
people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that 
people whose God is the Lord." 

To prove this true we need only to avail ourselves 
of the description given by reliable witnesses who 
have traveled through and sojourned among those 
nations, and, becoming acquainted with them, can 
judge correctly of their happiaess or their unhappi- 
ness, or we may avail ourselves of the facilities of 
travel and observe that moral, intellectual and social 
light, prosperity and happiness, shine and prevail just 
in proportion as the light of divine truth taught 
from the Christian Bible prevails. 

Look at parts of India, Japan, China and Africa, 
where the light of gospel truth has so recently begun 
to dawn, and contrast the condition of the people 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST; 103 

there with those yet in heathen lands ; and tell me 
which is the happiest people, which is the most pros- 
perous? 

But the advantage of the Christian over the pagam 
or heathen system is not so much in the proportionate* 
numbers which it saves and prepares for happiness 
here, and in the eternal future, as in the degree oi 
happiness, for which it prepares its objects. 

It is quite impossible to fully estimate the value of 
this. It is scarcely possible to tell how much the 
grace of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, when 
obtained in all its fullness will develop the capacity off 
our whole manhood, body, soul, and spirit to glorif y 
God and to enjoy Him forever. 

Whatever this is worth, in contrast with the 
heathen's fear of God and working righteousness 
according to his imperfect understanding, securing to 
him mere acceptance from his Maker, Christianity is 
worth over and above heathenism. But the grand 
purpose in the subject of this discussion is to show 
that the heathen may be saved ; proving that Christ 
"saves to the uttermost." That is, that it is possible 
that all Jews, heathens, pagans and all of every nation, 
and of every age, those who have lived, those who. 
now live, and those who may live hereafter, have had,-, 
now have, or hereafter may have an opportunity to be 
saved. 

This is indeed clearly implied in the language of:' 
Paul — II Corinthians v, 14, 15 — "For the love of ': 
Christ constraineth us ; because we thus judge, that: 



104 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

if one died for all, then were all dead; and that He 
died for all, that they which live should not henceforth 
live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them 
^nd rose again." This seems to set the possibility of 
the salvation of the heathen, and that they may be 
saved through Christ, beyond the possibility of doubt. 
How this is it is probable we may not be able so 
clearly and f ally to determine. We may reason, how- 
ever, that according to the knowledge they have, they 
may believe in Christ, a Saviour, as they believe in 
God by whom all things consist and are made. 

We learn that in all the great religions of the world 
there is the idea of sacrifice, and a mediator by which 
the wrath of an offended deity or offended deities 
must be appeased, and by which his or their good will 
must be propitiated. 

It is also a fact that among most of the nations and 
tribes of earth there is a more or less definite idea 
of and a reverence for a great spirit. To what extent 
this idea of and reverence for this triune God may be 
developed in some of them who are more devotional 
than others, as is the case in all nations, we can not 
tell. 

Is it not probable that at least it may be sufficiently 
developed to bring its possessor to God through Christ, 
that he may be able to save him? Nothing less than 
that could make Christ the Saviour of all men. 

We think from the foregoing scriptures and from 
reasoning we may expect many of the vast numbers 
from heathen lands to come up on the resurrection 



SALVATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 105 

morning to swell the throng of the redeemed who shall 
sing the chorus: " Now unto Him that loved us and 
hath redeemed us, and washed our robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Amen! Christ 
is all, unto all, and over all, blessed forevermore." 



106 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE SALVATION OF LITTLE CHILDREN. 

Matt, xix, 14: "But Jesus said, Suffer little chil- 
dren and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of 
such is the kingdom of heaven." 

The subject here presented for our consideration is 
one of deep interest and of great magnitude. 

Until recently the Christian world has been sharp- 
ly divided as to whether all children not yet grown to 
the years of accountability are or will be saved. 

Calvinists, formally and generally, used to assert 
their belief that a certain number of mankind, inclu- 
ding infants, and of angels, were predestined by God 
to eternal damnation and that the number was so 
definitely fixed that it could neither be increased or 
diminished. 

Armenians believe and assert, "That all infants and 
children who have not grown to the years of accounta- 
bility (including imbeciles) are and will be saved." 

I have been led to rejoice that there are but few 
at the present day who are willing to contend for 
the doctrine of infant damnation. Though it is still 
in the creeds of many, in one form or another, yet it 
remains there as a dead letter. Though I am not 
much in favor of dead letters yet, as I think that 
doctrine always a dead letter, I would much rather 
it would remain buried in the church creeds than that 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 107 

any one should bring it forth in the light of the nine- 
teenth century., and by advocating it try to galvanize it 
into life. Not that we fear they will succeed, for the 
more such dead things are agitated, they emit an 
unpleasant odor, convincing all around of the fact 
that they are dead. But we think there is in thi& 
century plenty of better work for Christians than fill- 
ing the air with such odors. 

In the language we have quoted from our Saviour,, 
we are taught fully and clearly that all little children 
are saved ; inasmuch as they are like the inhabitants 
of Heaven. 

Again he says: Matthew xviii, 3, "Except ye be 
converted and become as little children, ye shall not 
enter into the kingdom of Heaven." This makes 
little children the very samples of Christian character. 

Apropos to this subject and connecting it with that 
of our former chapter we would quote the language 
of Peter in his address to an audience composed of 
different nationalities, gathered at Jerusalem, when 
they enquired what they should do to be saved^ 
answered: Acts ii, 38-40, "Kepent, and be baptized, 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to> 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as 
many as the Lord our God shall call." 

This, with the commission of the Saviour to the 
Apostles: Mark xvi, 15, "Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel unto every creature," proves. 



108 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

conclusively that God through the gospel designs to 
oall all the world, and that the promise of pardon 
and the gift of the Holy Ghost, whose office is to 
regenerate, witness the adoption of and sanctify 
wholly, also witnessing to that fact, and keep all those 
saved unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, is 
designed to include all mankind. 

Peter says : " This promise is not only to you, (those 
making the inquiry) and to all that are afar off, but to 
your children.' ' 

Why should it not be? The Saviour had said: " Of 
such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Oh! what a wonderful announcement! 

While a few from the vast numbers of heathen 
lands, of all times, obeying and following the little 
light they have, may be saved ; unquestionably, the 
teeming multitudes of their little children, with the 
teeming multitudes of the little children of Christian 
lands, shall yet sing the songs of the redeemed in 
heaven. Of these redeemed little children we have 
much more to say. They are the light and joy of 
every household which may be favored with their 
presence. The birth of the little new comer is hailed 
with a delight and joy to every true family which no 
other event can equal. All such families consider this 
peculiarly a gift of God, and are ready to exclaim: 

" Cherub! Much less like earth than heaven, 
Treasure! To us in mercy given; 
Let us now, hence, and ever prove 
Our gratitude, by purest love." 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 109 

The first look of recognition from the new comer is 
hailed with delight. The first appearing smile which 
lights up the lovely face, the first " coo " heard, the 
first return of affection's kis&, the first word spoken, 
the first step taken, and the first pearly tooth that 
makes its appearance — all, are hailed with constantly 
increasing delight by each member of that happy 
family circle. 

And why all this? Is it not because all feel that 
of such is the kingdom of heaven? 

And what is the first natural impulse of that devout 
family circle? Why that we ought to give back to 
God, the Father of lights, in whom there is no vari- 
ableness, neither shadow of turning, in solemn cove- 
nant, this precious gift. And this is what Jesus says 
in effect: Let the parents bring their children to me 
that I may bless them. Let them give them to me in 
the only ordinance I have instituted, by which any can 
be visibly received into my visible kingdom or church. 

Under the Jewish dispensation, the ordinance by 
which all were received in the church of God, or be- 
came his people, was circumcision. Under the Chris- 
tian dispensation it is baptism. They were to circumcise 
their children; we are to baptize ours. God promised 
to bless them and circumcise their hearts and the 
hearts of their children if they would trust Him to do 
it. He promises to bless us and our children, and to 
baptize us and them with the Holy Ghost, cleansing 
our hearts, if we trust Him to do it. By these passages 
of Holy Writ, with many more we might quote to the 



110 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

same effect, we learn that little children of all 
nations, if they die in their infancy, being fit subjects 
of the kingdom, shall enter therein. 

We now proceed to consider the advantages the chil- 
dren of Christian lands enjoy over those of heathen 
lands, and the advantages of those of Christian families 
over those that are not Christian. 

First. Those of Christian lands, though they have 
not Christian parents, have great advantages of those of 
heathen lands, in that, if they live to grow up to years 
of accountability, have the privileges of Christian in- 
struction and example, and consequently are more 
likely to become religious, happy, useful and pros- 
perous in this world and of obtaining a life of eternal 
glory and blessedness in heaven. 

Second. The children of truly Christian parents 
have great advantages of those who are not of Christian 
parents ; (1) inasmuch as by generation they inherit at 
least to some extent a better nature than they, as we 
are taught in the Bible. I Corinthians vii, 14:, "For 
the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and 
the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband ; else 
<were your children unclean ; but now are they holy." 

We are also taught that after Adam and Eve had 
sinned, Adam begat a son in his own likeness ; that 
is, a sinner. Putting the two passages together, we 
learn, as a general rule if not universally, where both 
^parents are holy their offspring will be holy, and 
wrhere both are sinful their offspring will be sinful. 
And that where one is holy and the other sinful the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. Ill 

offspring will sometimes inherit the nature of one 
more than of the other, and at other times will combine 
and inherit the nature of both parents nearly equally. 

While this seems to be the teaching of the word of 
God facts fully confirm the same. As in the physical 
and intellectual being, or nature, so in the moral we 
find by observation and experience the child in- 
variably inherits the character or nature of the parent, 
to a greater or less extent. It is true that in all these 
respects the laws of generation may run back to 
grandparents ; sometimes to third or fourth generations. 
If then, to generate children with healthy, symmetri- 
cal and vigorous bodies it is important that the father 
and mother possess such bodies, and in order to 
generate children with bright, healthy and vigorous 
intellects it is important that parents possess such in- 
tellects, how much more important is it that parents 
possess a pure, holy, beautiful, lovely and vigorous, 
yea a perfect, spirit or moral nature. Just as much 
more as the spirit is more valuable than the body or 
mind. Oh, then, as parents who bring children into 
the world stamped with a pure spirit let them seek 
and maintain such a spirit. 

It is true that other causes than parental genera- 
tion, may weaken, deform and otherwise injure the 
body and mind of their offspring; so may it be 
with the spirit. Sometimes these causes may be those 
over which parents have no control, and consequently 
such as they are not responsible for. While no 
reasonable person will blame parents for deformities 



112 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

or weakness of body or mind in their children, caused 
by accident or anything over which they have no con- 
trol; yet many are unreasonable enough to blame 
Christian parents for having bad children, for which 
they are just as little responsible. They may have- 
become bad through the influence or instruction of 
others, for which their parents cannot reasonably be 
blamed. 

Third. The question naturally arises at what age 
does a child arrive at accountability, so as to make 
repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ necessary as a condition of salvation? We 
answer — doubtless that depends upon the natural and 
acquired capacity of the child. Some have greater 
natural capacity than others. And their natural 
capacity may be improved by instruction and culture. 

Fourth. It is the duty of parents, of brothers and 
sisters, of all friends, and teachers of all schools, to 
teach children, (1) to know God and his works, (2) to 
know their relations and responsibilities to Him as 
their Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, Eedeemer, 
Sanctifier and final Judge. We say that parents should 
teach their children all these things, and in order that 
they may be prepared so to do they themselves should 
seek to know them. Iq Christian lands they may 
know them and God will hold them responsible for 
their acquiring and theu imparting this knowledge to 
their children. 

No other teacher can discharge the duty of the 
parent to teach the child. The duty of the mother is. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 113 

perhaps prior to all others, but it is to be immediately 
seconded and ever accompanied by that of the father. 
And these instructions of parents, though supple- 
mented and completed by other teachers, are to accom- 
pany them until their children graduate from earth 
to heaven. 

This teaching may be done not alone by precept, but 
much better by example. We said that brothers and 
sisters should teach the younger. What a beautiful 
thought. The family is to become a normal school in 
which the principal and his associates are to train 
teachers having lower classes (if of only one), on 
which they are to practice their profession. We said 
that the teachers of all schools should teach the 
children. What are they to teach them? We answer, 
divine as well as human science. Yes, this is the 
most important of all science. The most valuable of all 
knowledge. Let the parents, the officers of districts, 
of towns, of counties, of states, of nations, of churches, 
and of all educational corporations, see that all teach- 
ers do this. Then shall our children, the children of 
our families, of our communities, of our districts, of 
our states, of our churches and commonwealth, not 
only be symmetrical, beautiful, lovely and strong in 
body and mind, but, most important of all, morally in 
sp irit. 

Let this system of instruction begin young, in the 

family kindergarten with its object lessons of holy 

examples, in the family normal school; and then, 

let it be continued through schools of all grades until 

15 



114 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

the student graduates in heaven. Then if he does 
not graduate with highest honors I shall miss my 
guess. Indeed it will be his own fault and the 
astonishment of all beholders. If any one from heathen 
lands, where he has not enjoyed such a course of in- 
struction should present a more complete or more 
perfect manhood, it will be the fault of the student of 
Christian lands. 

Fifth. So far we have considered one source of cul- 
ture and of spiritual or of moral development, spir- 
itual or moral instruction. We now call attention to 
prayer, as a source of development. Ephesians vi, 18: 

" Praying always with all prayer and supplication 
in the Spirit." (1.) Secret prayer by the mother, and 
with the child at her knees, and teaching it to pray.* 
(2.) By the father, not only in secret, but in the fam- 
ily morning and evening, frequently calling on the 
mother, and sometimes upon the children to lead, 'or 
to take some part therein. Let all conform and 
spiritual development will invariably result. (3.) So- 
cial prayer in the weekly prayer meeting, taking the 
children along and endeavoring to get them to take a 
part. 

Always making the children special objects of 
prayer, if not by name at least as a class. These 
prayers come up as a memorial before God, and call 
down His blessing upon the heads and into the hearts 
of those for whom they are offered. 

Sixth. Attendance of the various means of grace 

* See supplement. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 115 

which the parents promise when they dedicate them 
to God. But how often is it neglected, the sad history 
of the church shows, greatly to the injury and to the 
loss and sometimes to the ruin of its children. Our 
covenant is broken, and the curse of God, instead of 
His blessing, falls upon the child, its parents and 
sometimes upon the whole church. Oh! brethren! 
Let not this be so. 

Seventh. Discipline is needed, as well as all the fore- 
going, for the healthy development of the spirit nature 
of the child. Eestraint from evil and prompting to the 
right are a necessity to a greater or less degree to all 
mankind, more especially in childhood. God, all wise 
men and nature recognize the fact that the parents 
of children are their natural rulers. God says: 
" Children obey your parents in the Lord." • He also 
condemned Eli, one of His chosen prophets, because 
he knew the evil deeds of his sons and did not re- 
strain them. 

We are clearly taught in the word of God to 
restrain our children from evil, by reason and moral 
suasion, if we can, forcibly if we must. This, all 
reason and experience proves, may be done most 
effectually, in early life ; but ought to be done at all 
times, until the laws of God and of the land take the 
children from under parental control. The neglect 
of this duty generally brings sorrow and contempt 
upon the parents, and frequently ruin upon the child. 
Faithful administration of parental government and 
obedience thereto brings gladness and honor to the 



116 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

parents, the blessing of God, a long and happy life in 
this world, and eternal life in the world to come to the 
child, and prosperity to the nation. All the foregoing 
tends to the spiritual upbuilding of the child ; but, last 
and 

Eighth. Personal exercise or culture, tends greatly 
to the same results. / Timothy iv, 7, 8: "And exer- 
cise thyself rather unto godliness. 

" For bodily exercise profiteth little ,but godliness is 
profitable to all things, having promise of the life that 
now is, and of that which is to come." 

We think this is true not only of bodily exercise, 
but of mental as well; that, compared to godliness, 
which implies the exercise of our spiritual or moral 
natures, they profit but little. That is, while bodily 
and intellectual exercise profit a great deal, compared 
to the right exercise of the soul or spirit it is small. 
While the exercise of any department of our being 
is chiefly profitable, in the immediate fruits of the 
exercise or labor; yet, all judicious exercise of body, 
or spirit is profitable in the development of that par- 
ticular part of our being which is exercised. Then, 
when we consider that the child, endowed by nature, 
as it is commonly called, but more properly, endowed 
by his Creator, with wonderful capacity, may, by the 
proper use of that capacity, develop or improve it all 
along through this life, and that then he may be exer- 
cising and developing that capacity in the future 
world, through the endless ages of eternity. 

Oh ! what vast capabilities open before the child of 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTEK1IOST. 117 

earth, and yet of heaven born powers ! Nor is this a 
mere fancy, for, it is said of the inhabitants of the 
heavenly world: "They serve God day and night for- 
ever and ever." And shall we suppose that exercise 
in his service there shall less develop one who exer- 
cises therein than here? No ! No ! 

But these powers, thus developed and thus used, are 
to bring to one using them a reward, as we are assured 
"according to the deeds done in the body." And 
can we believe that those that serve God day and night 
forever and ever in heaven will not be rewarded for 
such service? If they will, then add the profit gained 
in the exaltation of the character of the servant to 
the reward rendered for the services; and then 
multiply that sum by the time of the service, which is 
all eternity, and we have as the grand result — infinite 
time multiplied by an inestimable reward as the final 
answer. This represents the gain of one commencing 
to exercise himself in Godliness in early childhood 
and being faithful unto death. 

And this is salvation to the uttermost for little 
children. No wonder that Christian parents should 
rejoice at their birth, glory in their life, triumph at 
their death, and sing peans at their coronation. 



118 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER III. 

JUSTIFICATION AND REGENERATION. 

Hitherto we have considered this subject as to the 
heathen and to little children. We now ask attention 
to its application to adult sinners. In the salvation 
of such there are many things to be considered. 

First. That every one has inherited to a greater or 
less extent a sinful nature. Although comparatively, 
the children of parents who are made holy, under the 
redeeming scheme of this uttermost salvation, especi- 
ally in cases where the grand-parents for several 
generations have been holy, yet, unquestionably 
according to the scriptures as well as by the demon- 
stration of facts, more or less of the old Adam inheres 
in all. This is fully and clearly set forth in the 
fifth chapter of Romans and summed up in the 19th 
20th and 21st verses : 

19. "For as by one man's disobedience many 
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall 
many be made righteous." 

20. "Moreover, the law entered that the offense 
might abound. But where sin abounded grace did 
much more abound." 

21. "That as sin hath reigned unto death even 
so might grace reign through righteousness unto 
eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 119 

Romans vii, 18, 19 : u For I know that in me, (that is 
in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is 
present with me; but how to perform that which is 
good, I find not." 

"For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil 
which I would not, that I do." 

We might quote many other passages of scripture to 
the same effect, but we deem these sufficient. Indeed 
in distinction from all human testimony, in which two 
or three witnesses are necessary to establish any fact, one 
clear and full statement of the word of God is suffi- 
cient. What the word of God teaches on this subject, 
is confirmed by the observation and experience of all 
persons in all ages of the world. The earliest acts of 
all children manifest, to a greater or less extent, and 
the experience of all proves that they inherit such a 
disposition and nature. 

Second. Everyone (unless regenerated from child- 
hood, as we think is possible) is likely to commit 
personal transgressions by which guilt, condemnation 
and the death penalty is incurred. 

We say we think it is possible to be regenerated 
from childhood, and by the grace of God to be so 
kept from sinning as that we may never commit a 
willful and known transgression. At this point we 
will give some reasons for such a conclusion. 

As Jesus has said: "Suffer little children to 
come unto me," we may conclude they may go to Him,, 
and be saved, just as soon as they are old enough to 
recognize Him as a Saviour. We think they are evi- 



120 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

dently old enough to recognize Him as their Saviour 
just as soon, if not before, they are old enough 
to know what sin is, and therefore they may by 
faith come unto Him and be saved not only from 
sinfulness but from sinning, until He comes to take 
them to Himself, that where He is there they may be 
also. This is salvation to the uttermost for them, and 
nothing short of this can be salvation to the uttermost. 
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and if 
there is a point or period in the life of any child in 
which it is impossible for it to be saved from all sin 
and from all sinning He cannot destroy the works of 
the devil, and is not able to save to the uttermost. 

We are not willing to admit this. We are unwilling to 
believe our children in the power of the adversary for 
one moment without a remedy by faith in Christ. 
We are unwilling to believe ourselves thus in his 
power. 

Third. But, having come to the years of account- 
ability, if they sin, they incur guilt, and for every 
transgression and disobedience they will receive a just 
recompense at the day of judgment unless pardoned. 

Fourth. But not only so, every sin committed cor- 
rupts the heart or moral nature, makes it more 
inclined to sin and disqualifies it for the society of the 
pure and holy in heaven. Because of this corruption 
or sinfulness, if it was not for the guilt of sin subject- 
ing the sinner to the penalty of transgression, which 
is a death eternal in a lake of fire and brimstone, 
which is called in Revelation xx, 14, "the second 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 121 

death ;" yet, because man would be sinful he could 
not enter heaven, which is compared to a holy city, 
according to Revelation xxi, 27: "And there shall in 
no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither 
whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie ; but 
they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." 
If in such a sinful state man could get to heaven 
he could not enjoy it, for he does not in such a state 
enjoy the society of the holy here, much less the 
immediate, and to such the awful presence of an 
infinitely pure and holy God. Such might well say, 
as the youthful and skeptical Altamont said just as he 
felt he was about to die: "0 thou insulted and holy 
Lord God, hell itself would be a refuge if it would but 
hide me from thy presence." " They which are writ- 
ten in the Lamb's book of life" shall enter the pearly 
gates. 

Fifth. For all these effects and results of sin there 
is salvation to the uttermost to them that come to 
God through Christ. Now, the important question is 
hoio may any and all come unto God through Christ? 
We would answer, First: by repentance, and Second, 
by faith in a triune God. First, then, by repentance. 

Mankind by sin have departed from the living God. 
Every sin takes the sinner farther and farther from 
God, not absolutely, but morally until at last he 
seems to neither see or hear Him in anything , or any- 
where. It is not surprising that some, even that 
many such conclude, "there is no God." Indeed, 
the Bible declares that they are "without Christ " and 



122 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

"without God in the world." How then shall they 
return, how shall they find Him? We answer: First, 
by repentance. 

Eepentance, in a general sense, means a turning 
around ; but in a scriptural sense it means more. A 
" Godly sorrow for sin, a sorrow that needeth not to 
be repented of," a sorrow for having sinned against a 
God of infinite goodness, love and mercy. Then it 
implies a resolution to forsake sin and in the future 
to do right. What is necessary that the sinner may 
do this? First, That he be convicted of sin and its 
consequences. In producing this conviction the 
Holy Spirit is the prime agent, the ministry and the 
church generally the secondary agents; and the 
word of God, either written or spoken, is the instru- 
ment. 

First. The Holy Spirit has inspired the written 
word, or the Bible, and in a general way applies truths 
contained therein to the mind and heart of all sincere 
enquirers after truth, producing more or less convic- 
tion ; always enough, if adhered to, to bring the sinner 
to repentance and to a saving faith in Christ. 

Second. It calls men, and sometimes women too, 
to the lifework of preaching or of expounding the 
word, and inspires those called in their work, and 
impresses the truth they read or speak on the mind 
and heart of the hearer. In this work the whole 
church may greatly aid the ministry, as moved by the 
Spirit at times. That the Spirit may do this work it 
is the privilege and duty of the ministry and of the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 12$ 

whole church to pray for it to give especial endow- 
ment of power from on high, to the ministry and to 
the church, to do all their duties. Then, everywhere, 
and at all times, as at Jerusalem on the day of 
Pentecost, sinners will be "cut to the heart, or 
deeply convicted of sin, of righteousness and of judg- 
ment, " and would ask "men and brethren, what 
shall we do? " « 

Third. The same blessed Spirit will inspire or 
direct some one as it did Peter, on the day of Pentecost, 
to effectually say: "Repent and be baptized every one 
of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost." 

Fourth. Sinners beiug thus convicted and pointed 
to repentance the next office of the Spirit is to inspire 
true repentance in the heart. It is not uncommon 
when one makes up the mind to seek salvation he 
feels his hardness of heart and an indifference quite 
inconsistent with his condition. What is to be done? 
Let him and others for him pray that the Spirit may 
enlighten his mind and inspire deep penitence in his 
heart. 

Fifth. The Spirit also inspires the heart of the truly 
penitent seeker of pardon with faith to believe that 
God will and finally that he does pardon; and, finally — 

Sixth. The same blessed spirit witnesses to the fact 
that sins are all forgiven. This is taught in Isaiah 
xliii, 25: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy trans- 
gressions, and will not remember thy sins." It is the 



124 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

evident privilege of all to have the witness of the 
Spirit to every work of grace wrought in the heart. 
He is to show us the things of God or of Christ as 
we are taught in John xv, 26, also xvi, 15. "He shall 
testify of me." "All things that the Father hath are 
mine ; therefore said I, he shall take of mine and show 
it unto you." 

The gift of pardon \% unquestionably of God the 
Father, and inasmuch as all things that the Father 
hath are Christ's ; and He says that the Spirit shall 
show it unto us, we may know by His showing "all" 
things that are freely given us of God, and pardon is 
one of those things. 

Concomitant in time, though different in nature from 
pardon or justification, is regeneration. This is the 
same state of grace as is expressed by being born again 
in John iii, 3, 5, 6 : 

3. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." 

5. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 

6. " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." That 
is, that which is born of the Spirit of God is the spirit 
of man. 

This is also doubtless the same as is expressed by 
being created anew in Ephesians ii, 10: "For we are 
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
works.' ' Ephesians iv, 23, 24: "And be renewed in 
the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 125 

man, which is created in righteousness and true holi- 
ness." 

This is also doubtless the same state as is expressed 
by being converted in Matthew xviii, 3 : " Except ye 
be converted and become as little children, ye shall 
not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' ' 

According to these passages of Holy Writ, this com- 
bined work of justification and of regeneration is in 
every respect a most wonderful work. The work of 
human salvation. (1.) Wonderful when we consider 
the danger to which the object saved was exposed and 
from which it is delivered. (2.) When we consider 
the greatness of its author. (3.) When we con- 
sider what it cost this great author to secure it. 

First. Then let us consider the danger to which the 
object of this salvation is exposed. It is punishment 
for the transgression of the divine law, either in a lake 
of literal fire and brimstone or punishment so extreme 
that it is properly represented by a burning in such a 
lake, and that punishment is to continue forever. We 
are taught that the degree of the punishment will be, 
in every case, in proportion to the desert of the trans- 
gressor. We are informed that this lake of fire was 
prepared for the devil and his angels {Revelation xx, 
10), but in Revelation xx, 15: "That whosoever was 
not written in the book of life was cast into the 
lake of fire." 

It may be inquired how shall the punishment be in 
proportion to the guilt of the transgressor when all 
are cast into the same lake of fire? We reply, this is 



126 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

not impossible with a God who could temper the fire 
of a furnace which was heated seven times hotter than 
it was accustomed to be so that it had no powar on the 
persons of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who 
were cast therein. 

But this is only the positive part of the punishment 
of the wicked. The negative part, an exclusion from 
heaven, as we are informed in John iii, 5: "Except a 
man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot 
«nter into the kingdom of God." 

Therefore, being shut out of the kingdom of God 
and enduring torment forever and ever is the danger 
to which the object of this salvation is exposed. 
Surely such a salvation is infinitely great. 

Second. The object of this salvation is introduced 
into and enjoys a glorious state, in a glorious place, in 
glorious society, and in an eternity of glory. Surely 
this is an infinitely glorious salvation. 

Third. The author of this salvation is infinite in all 
the attributes of His nature and in all His works ; and 
the salvation of humanity is His crowning work. Of it 
a poet has well said: " 'Twas great to speak a world 
from naught; 'twas greater to redeem." 

Fourth. It cost this great author the shedding of 
His own blood, unto death; as we are taught in the 
Bible, "without the shedding of blood there is no 
remission of sin." 

The law had declared death, spiritual, material and 
eternal, to the offender. He who would save man 
from it must meet the penalty, "the just for the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 127 

unjust to bring them to God." Hallelujah to God the 
Pather, to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, for this 
uttermost salvation. It delivers its object from the 
penalty of the broken law, justifies and gives him 
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
changes or converts his nature, creates him anew in 
the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. 
It regenerates and makes him a child of God, adopt- 
ing him into His family; and last but not least it 
gives him the best possible evidence of this, glorious 
fact. 

Of this evidence we propose to write a little and 
close this chapter. (1) It is said in the word, / John iii, 
14: "We know that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren." 

By the same brotherly love we may know that we 
are born of God, as we are taught in T John iv, 7: 
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; 
and everyone that loveth is horn of God and loveth 
God." Again we may know that we are God's children 
because we cease from sin and do right, as we are 
taught in / John iii, 10: "In this the children of 
God are manifest and the children of the devil ; who- 
soever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither 
he that loveth not his brother." 

We might refer to many other sources of evidence 
of this great change, especially to the general fact 
that we love God, His people, our brethren, our 
neighbors, God's word, His worship and all that is 
good, as never before. That we hate or despise all 



128 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

evil as never before. But in some instances it is very 
difficult to tell from any of these sources whether we 
have met with this change. One may not have been very 
bad or sinful either by nature or practice; may have 
been taught to love God and all things good, and to 
hate or despigfe evil, and for this cause he may per- 
suade himself, and others may judge of him, that in all 
classes of evidence he himself possesses and evinces to 
others that he has the testimony that he is a Chris- 
tian, and yet he and they may be deceived. 

But the question is : Is there an evidence, is there 
any testimony upon which one may rely with unshaken 
confidence, one that brings assurance to the heart that 
we are the children of God? We think there is such 
evidence, there is such testimony. It is the witness 
of the Spirit. It is referred to in Romans viii, 14, 
15, 16, 17 : "For as many as are led by the Spirit of 
God, they are the sons of God." "For ye have not 
received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye 
have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
Abba, Father." "The spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 
"And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint- 
heirs with Christ; if so be, we suffer with Him that 
we may be also glorified together." 

Let us examine this testimony closely and carefully. 
In the 14th verse it is said, "as many as are led by the 
Spirit of God they are the sons of God." But can we 
be certain that we are thus led? We think not. But 
even if we could this is not the evidence we need, in- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 129 

asmuch as it is the result and consequently is subse- 
quent to and cannot be the evidence of our being 
the children of God. The same may be said as to the 
promptings of the Spirit of God by which we say or 
cry, Abba, Father. But in the 16th verse is stated 
the direct, immediate and continued witness of the 
Spirit: "The Spirit itself beareth," not has borne, or 
will bear; but beareth witness with our spirit, not 
that we have been, or shall be, but that we are now 
the children of God. 

This is just the kind of evidence every one needs. 
It gives its testimony at the time one becomes a child, 
and it prompts him to cry Abba, Father, and to be 
led by the Spirit. It sheds abroad the love of God in 
his heart ; all of which are fruits of the Spirit and a 
corroborating testimony that we are the children of 
God, but does not do away with the necessity of the 
direct and abiding witness of the Spirit that we are 
the children of God. But it is not only the testimony 
we need because it comes just at the time we need it, 
but because we are sure that the testimony He gives is 
perfectly reliable. He is emphatically called by our 
Saviour the Spirit of Truth. This is not all; but if 
the work of regeneration is wrought He has wrought 
it; and upon the unquestionable principle that he who 
has done a work is the best possible witness of the 
completion of that work provided he is a truthful 
witness. 

Upon these principles we may confidently rely upon 
the testimony given by the Spirit of God. And now 
17 



130 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

let us consider the Saviour's declaration, "that our 
heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him than parents are to give 
good gifts to their children." So then we may ask 
our heavenly Father to give his Holy Spirit to bear 
witness to our hearts to any work wrought within us. 

With equal confidence and upon the same authority 
we may ask the agency of the Divine Spirit in the 
accomplishment of any work connected with human 
salvation. 

First. That He will endow the church with power 
from on high to labor (both the ministry and the 
laity) for the conviction and the conversion of 
sinners. 

Second. That He will powerfully convict sinners of 
sin, of righteousness and a judgment. 

Third. That he will lead them to God through 
Christ for pardon and regeneration. 

Fourth. That he will give to all penitent seekers 
the faith which justifies and brings peace, and that 
faith which works by love and purifies the heart. 

Fifth. That He will thoroughly convert the soul, 
regenerate the heart, create in all who seek a clean 
heart and renew in them a right spirit, and shed 
abroad the love of God in their hearts. 

Sixth. That having done all these things thoroughly 
He will give clear and full testimony to its accomplish- 
ment. Then will convictions be deep, pungent and 
general, and conversions be clear, powerful and numer- 
ous. All this work being wrought by the agency of 



SALYATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 131 

the Holy Spirit, God's people may confidently look 
for it, not only where circumstances seem favorable 
but where they appear most unpropitious. God is not 
circumscribed in his work by time, place or circum- 
stance. 

Wherever a few or many are united together in 
prayer ofEered by faith in the Lord Jesus for the salva- 
tion of precious souls, and will persevere therein, He 
is ready to hear and answer, and always deep convic- 
tion will rest on the unconverted whether they will 
yield to those convictions or not. Their conviction 
may be without their consent and even against their 
will, but God will never convert any against their will. 
Therefore it is apparent that in order to obtain pardon 
and regeneration the sinner must surrender his all to 
God, and ask by faith in Christ for pardon and regen- 
eration, sincerely repenting of his sins ; then will God 
pardon all his trangressions, renew his heart and give 
the witness of the Spirit that he is born of God. 

And now, friendly reader, if you have not already 
made this surrender, let us beseech you immediately 
so to do, and in the name of the Master we can promise 
you peace that passeth understanding, and joy 
unspeakable, and full of glory in the present life with 
eternal blessedness in the world to come. 



132 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTEE IV. 

ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 

/ Thessalonians v, 23, 24: " And the very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole 
spirit, and soul and body, be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is 
He that calleth you, who also will do it." 

We believe that in the Bible the same state of grace 
or of Christian perfection is meant by Matthew v, 48 : 
" Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect." By perfect love, as in 1 John iv, 
17: "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have 
boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is so 
are we in this world." 

By perfect holiness as in II Corinthians vii, 1: 
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, 
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the 
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 

These, as we think, are all the terms used in the 
Bible, to express definitely the highest state of Chris- 
tian experience and life. Even perfect love does not 
fully define such a state of experience and life, only 
as it is understood to be the crowning grace, and as it is 
presumed to imply as a necessity the perfection of all 
other Christian graces. 

We have no particular objection to the use of the 
term "the higher life," as used by Upham, nor 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 133 

"the perfect rest of faith," as used by A. B, Earle, 
as expressive of the same state of grace and life, only 
as they do not seem to us fully to express, nor neces- 
sarily to imply, all that is meant in the Bible by being 
perfect, perfecting holiness and by entire sanctification. 

Besides this we acknowledge that we prefer the 
terms used by the Holy Ghost in the inspired volume 
to express any state of Christian experience and life 
to any formulated by mere man though he may infer 
his terms from the word of God. We have sometimes 
feared that these inferential terms were preferred to 
avoid the prejudices of men against the terms used in 
the Bible. If so, that to our mind is an objection to 
their use, and a reason for the use only of the terms 
indited by the Holy Ghost. 

Second. All believers in the Bible agree, that the 
state expressed in these terms is attainable, but — 

(1) Some believe that all that is meant by these 
terms is included in justification and regeneration, 
and consequently experienced by all who have attained 
to that estate. 

(2) Some think that none can attain to such a 
state in this life. 

Third. We and many others believe that all persons 
may attain to such a state of experience and live such 
a life, as is expressed in the scriptures which we have 
quoted, in this world ; and yet that it is not generally 
if ever attained at the time of conversion. 

First. That all do not experience entire sanctifica- 
tion at conversion is evident from the fact that we 



134 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

learn from / Thessalonians i, 6, 7 : " And ye became 
followers of us and of the Lord, having received the 
word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." 

" So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in 
Macedonia and Achaia." 

Yet for such Christians, who are very samples for 
others, we find Him praying: "And the very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly." 

Now we cannot suppose that an inspired apostle 
would pray God to do anything which he knew he 
had already done ; therefore we must conclude that 
these sample Christians who had received the word 
with joy of the Holy Ghost, and therefore must have 
been thoroughly converted, were not wholly sanctified. 

But more than this, we must conclude that God is 
no respecter of persons, He does not generally, if ever, 
wholly sanctify any at the time they receive the word 
with joy of the Holy Ghost and are converted. 

We will quote but one more passage to this effect. 
II Corinthians vii, 1: "Having therefore these 
promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 
all filthiness of the flesh and Spirit, perfecting holi- 
ness in the fear of God." 

When we examine the statement of the apostle with 
regard to his Corinthian brethren, we cannot doubt 
but that they were thoroughly converted Christians, 
and yet he exhorts them to cleanse themselves from 
all filthiness of the flesh and Spirit, clearly proving 
that they were not yet so cleansed ; and, that they 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 135 

should perfect holiness, clearly proves that they had 
not yet done that. 

We think these passages are sufficient to clearly 
prove the teachings of God's word upon the question 
whether justification and regeneration wholly sancti- 
fies or perfects in holiness all of its subjects. If it 
did this for any in apostolic times it seems to us they 
would have clearly informed us of that fact. We 
have sought for a single passage giving such informa- 
tion, but in vain. What these passages teach, almost, 
if not quite, the universal observation and experience 
of the Christian church confirms. Mr. Wesley, the 
founder of the Methodist church, and his associates in 
the ministry, were accustomed to examine their con- 
verts very critically as to their religious experience, 
and they report that they never found one who gave 
clear evidence that they were wholly sanctified at the 
time of their conversion. I have never heard of any 
minister, who had a clear conception of what entire 
sanctification was, who gave clear testimony that they 
did obtain sanctification at the time of conversion. 
I have seen some who judged that they were wholly 
sanctified at the time of their conversion, but when 
we questioned them as to the evidence they had, we 
found it was only the evidence of their conversion. 

We have never yet found one who would say that he 
had received the witness of the Spirit that he was. 
wholly sanctified at the time of his conversion. With- 
out such testimony we cannot believe that both works 
are wrought at the same time; for invariably the 



136 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Spirit gives testimony to the work He performs at 
the time it is accomplished. It may be, indeed, that 
the Spirit of the receiver does not recognize the source 
from whence it comes, but there is an impression 
made upon his spirit by the Spirit of God who does 
the -work that it is done, and if properly taught the 
receiver will recognize it as the voice of the Spirit. 
Of this we shall say more farther along. 

Second. As to the notion that men can attain such 
a state and live such a life in this world we might 
simply demand a thus saith the Lord and rest our 
cause. Those who announce such an opinion have 
the negative. They never have brought, and never 
can bring, any proof that it is impossible for anyone 
to be wholly sanctified and to live a wholly sanctified 
life in this world. 

Now we desire to call attention to some evidence 
from the Bible that under the provisions of divine 
grace such a state is attainable in this world. 

All believers in the Bible agree that it teaches that 
holiness must be obtained sometime in order that any- 
one be prepared for heaven. But many say that it 
cannot be obtained in this world. If so, all must 
attain to it, either at, in or after death, else they can- 
not enter heaven. 

We object to either of these theories. First. Because 
there is no evidence in the Bible to sustain them. 
Second. Because that either theory makes the redemp- 
tion scheme through Christ incomplete and makes 
death necessary to complete it. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 137 

And now we call attention to the proof that such a 
state and life is attainable in this world. 

First. We are commanded to be perfect in Genesis 
xvii, 1 : " I Am the Almighty God ; walk before me 
and be thou perfect." Deuteronomy xviii, 13: "Thou 
shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." Mattheio 
v, 48: "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." 

It is evident, from the nature of a command, that 
it is designed to be obeyed immediately, unless a 
future time is specified. No future time is specified in 
either case quoted, and therefore it is designed for 
immediate and perpetual obedience. 

We think this cannot be rationally denied. 

In the first instance the commandment is given to 
Abraham and is doubtlessly designed to bind not 
him alone, but his descendants. This is made more 
evident by the repetition of the same command, given 
to the descendants of Abraham by God through 
Moses, God's servant, in our second quotation. 

Our third quotation embraces the same command, 
given in substance by our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our 
Lord, who is one with the Father and the Holy Ghost. 
This is evidently designed for the immediate and per- 
petual observance of all Christ's followers. 

The only difference in this instance and the other 
two is that the Saviour indicates the kind of per- 
fection his followers are to attain and maintain, which 
we learn by the following: "Even as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." 



138 SALVATIOST TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

Evidently, this must mean the same kind of per- 
fection as God has, and not the same degree. In 
degree no man, or angel can be perfect as God, but in 
kind he may. This doubtless means the moral like- 
ness of God in which man was first created, and to 
which he is to be restored by the new creation, which 
consists in " Eighteousness a.nd true holiness," as set 
forth in Ephesians iv, 24. In righteousness and true 
holiness the followers of Christ are to be perfect 
according to their finite capacity, as God is according 
to his infinite capacity. We think this is the evident 
teaching of this passage. 

With this understanding we see nothing in it so 
fearful that the followers of Jesus should stagger at 
it, or shun it, as many seem to do. Indeed, every 
command of God is just as much in mercy given as 
are His exceedingly great and precious promises; 
and they should be just as readily received and as 
ardently cherished by the followers of Christ. 

But the attainableness of perfection is not only 
taught by God's commands, all of which we must 
believe it is possible to obey, but the same is proved 
by exhortations given to attain it. 

Colossians iii, 14: "And above all these things, put 
on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." This 
doubtless means by the bond the complete and uniting 
grace of perfectness. 

II Corinthians xiii, 9: "And this also we wish, 
even your perfection." 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 139 

Hebrews vi, 1 : " Therefore leaving the principles of 
the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto perfection." 

As to the second of these passages we observe : It 
would be impossible to conceive of an inspired apostle 
wishing a thing that could not be, and therefore as 
that wish or desire is put upon record (as we are in- 
formed all scripture is) for our instruction, it teaches 
us that it is the privilege of all to be made perfect in 
this world. 

An inspired apostle would certainly know that all 
would be perfect in the heavenly world and therefore 
would not express a wish that they might be. 

As to the third of these passages we would remark 
that the apostle must have understood : 

First. That his Hebrew brethren had not attained 
to Christian perfection, though they had been enlight- 
ened, had tasted of the heavenly gift, had been made 
partakers of the Holy Ghost, had tasted the good word 
of God, and the powers of the world to come. 

And yet he exhorts them to go on to perfection, lest 
they should fall away. Doubtless he had learned, what 
every minister whose special duty it is to watch over 
souls will learn, that if they rest in or stop at first at- 
tainments, instead of going on to perfection, the in- 
evitable tendency is to fall away or to backslide. 

Second. The apostle must have believed that they 
could attain to Christian perfection in this world, 
else he would have exhorted them to go on until they 
got to heaven, and then his Hebrew brethren would 
have understood him. 



140 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Then also would all Christians for whose instruction 
the exhortation was given have understood Him. 

The attainableness of this state and life is proved, 
thirdly, by instances of those who have been perfect 
given in the Bible. 

Genesis vi, 9: "Noah was a just man and perfect 
in his generations, and Noah walked with God." 

This is a remarkable instance : First, of justifica- 
tion; second, of perfection, and third, of a holy 
life. 

Noah it is said walked with God in his generations. 
This means doubtless in the age in which he lived and 
with his surroundings. Certainly if he could do that 
anybody at any age and with any surrounding could 
do as much. 

Noah lived when, according to Genesis vi, 5: " God 
saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually." Could any man be more 
unfavorably situated? Noah probably inherited a 
heart as bad as any for he was generated by and lived 
among the wicked people. But God had justified 
him, forgiven his sins and regenerated him. 

But more than that, He must have made him per- 
fect and then witnessed to him unquestionably by His 
Spirit, that this work was accomplished. But this is not 
all. "Noah walked with God," which is equivalent 
to saying he lived a holy life, which proves that all 
this was in this world. 

Then of all this God causes a record to be made 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 141 

and handed down to us for our instruction to whom the 
end of the world has come. 

Fifteen hundred and ten years before Christ there 
lived a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. 
God said of him, Job i, 1 : " That man was perfect 
and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed 
evil." 

This testimony is given of God concerning him while 
he enjoyed great prosperity. Then, Satan was per- 
mitted to take away his property and his children, 
when God declared of him again "that there is none 
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, 
one that f eareth God and escheweth evil ; and still he 
holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movest me 
against him, without cause." Then Satan was per- 
mitted to afflict his body most grievously, and his wife 
asked him : 

"Dost thou still retain thine integrity ? Curse God 
and die." 

But he said unto her: "Thou speakest as one of 
the foolish women speakest. What! shall we receive 
good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" 

Then comes in the testimony of God again concern- 
ing this perfect man : 

"In all this did not Job sin with his lips ?" 

If he did not sin with his lips, we may conclude he 
did not sin at all. For it is said : 

James iii, 2: "If any man offend not in word, the 
same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole 
body." 



142 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

But then, as is quite common with such persons, 
Job's religious friends came and accused him most 
bitterly of his sins, and that God was afflicting him 
because of his transgressions. Probably there is nothing 
more trying to humanity than such accusations. But 
this was added to all his other trials. 

But how did it affect Job? 

If we read carefully the accusations of these friends, 
and Job's answers to them, we find he was very sensi- 
tive to the wounds they heaped upon him, and from 
the apparent severity of the language with which he 
answered we might conclude he gave way to sinful 
temper and words. But what is God's decision? 

Job xlii, 7, 8 : "And it was so, that after the Lord 
had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said unto 
Eliphaz the Temanite: My wrath is kindled against 
thee, and against thy two friends, for ye have not 
spoken the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 

i 'Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and 
seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for 
yourselves a burnt offering ; and my servant Job shall 
pray for you ; for him will I accept; lest I deal with you 
after your folly in that ye have not spoken of me the 
thing which is right like my servant Job." 

Taking this with what followed, "the Lord also 
accepted Job," and the fact that "the Lord turned the 
captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends;" also 
that "the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had 
before," and that he died in that state, it forms a per- 
fect indorsement of the infinite God, of the perfection 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 143 

of his character and life. And if a man could attain 
such a character, and live such a life at that period, 
and enduring such trials as he did, surely any person 
can do as well in this Christian age and in a Christian 
land. 

God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost can 
accomplish as much for any and for all. 

Glory to His name. 

Psalm xxxvii, 37: " Mark the perfect man, and 
behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.' ' 

This being given by inspiration shows that there 
were in the days of the Psalmist some such men, for it 
would be mocking God to call upon anyone to mark 
or observe such a man if none such existed. 

/ Corinthians ii, 6: "Howbeit we speak wisdom 
among them that are perfect/' Equal folly it would 
be to write about speaking wisdom among them that 
are perfect if there were no perfect persons existing. 

Philippians iii, 15: "Let us therefore as many as be 
perfect be thus minded, and if in anything ye be 
otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto 
you." 

Evidently in these words Paul classes himself with 
others, and exhorts them to the attainment of a state 
to which they may not yet have attained, showing that 
the perfection which he advocated did not exclude 
mental growth. That it was only a perfection in 
moral quality and not in degree nor capacity. In 
capacity there is to be a perpetual growth through 
life and it may be to all eternity. 



144 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Fourth. Means are provided to make Christians per- 
fect we conclude ; as we cannot reasonably suppose an 
infinite God would provide means not commensurate 
with the ends to be accomplished thereby we must 
conclude that all may be made and kept perfect in 
this life. 

Fphesians iv, 11-32. All of which I entreat every 
Christian to read carefully and often, reading com- 
ments upon it and meditating thereon; and asking 
the guiding and inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit, 
that they may fully understand the entire import of 
the whole passage. In it we have the most complete 
epitome of instruction, in regard to the possibilities, 
the privileges and duties of Christians in this world, 
of any given in the whole inspired volume — in my 
opinion. 

First. The apostle names the secondary agents of 
human salvation, the Holy Spirit being the primary 
agent. The secondary are, apostles, prophets, evangel- 
ists, pastors and teachers. 

Second. That these are divinely appointed to this 
work. 

Third. The work is to be accomplished for the 
saints, by which is meant the sanctified, and yet, 
evidently, , not the wholly sanctified, inasmuch as 
the work these agents are appointed to accomplish is 
their entire sanctification and their growth to a per- 
fect manhood. 

Fourth. We call attention a little more particularly. 

First. The perfecting of the saints or the sanctified. 



SALVATION TO THE TTTEKMOST. 145 

This has undoubtedly reference to the converted or to 
the justified and regenerated. In their conversion 
they are made saints, that is, are sanctified, but not 
wholly or perfectly. The question arises, to what 
extent they are sanctified? We answer, so far as we 
can understand they are pardoned of all sins, absolved 
from all gu ilt, have peace with God, and are cleansed 
from all the corruption occasioned by their own per- 
sonal transgressions. They are, in other words, con- 
verted and become as little children. As such, they 
have a corrupt and unholy nature, inherited from 
Adam, for which they are are neither condemned nor 
will they be damned nor shut out of the kingdom of 
God. So the converted, who become like little 'chil- 
dren, have the Adamic, evil, carnal and unholy nature. 
For this they are no more responsible, nor will they 
be condemned or shut out of heaven, than will little 
children. Though this be true, they need to be freed 
from this corrupt nature thus inherited, and from it 
they may be cleansed by the application of the blood 
of Christ, through the agency of the Holy Spirit. 

For this every Christian should pray earnestly and 
seek by faith the application of the blood. As this 
work is wrought by the application of the blood of 
Christ and the agency of the Divine Spirit, he who 
neglects thus to seek it fails to fulfill the will of God, 
for it is declared, "this is the will of God, even your 
sanctification." 



19 



146 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTER V. 

ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION AS EXEMPLIFIED IN" THE 
BIBLE — CONTINUED. 

Ephesians iv, 12: "For the perfecting of the 
saints." 

In our last chapter we have seen that the apostle 
doubtless meant by the expression in these words the 
perfecting of sainthood, or of sanctification. Doubt- 
less the same is meant by perfecting holiness in II 
Corinthians vii, 1 : "Having therefore these promises, 
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthi- 
ness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the 
fear of God." 

It is evident that this implies, not only cleansing from 
all unrighteousness, but filling with righteousness, or 
filling them with all the fullness of God. We might have 
said that it is the same as the destroying in them of 
the old man, the Adamic or the carnal nature, and 
raising in them of the new man or the creating them 
anew in the likeness of G-od in righteousness and true 
holiness. 

There are many terms used in the Bible to express 
this state of purity and fullness to which the saint is 
to attain by faith. That it is wrought in him by the 
operation of the Spirit and by the application of the 
blood of Christ and therefore is an instantaneous work. 
But just after speaking of this work done by the 



SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 147 

agency of these classes of ministers, and of the whole 
work of the ministry, he speaks of Christian growth 
as another work which these classes of Christian 
ministers were appointed to promote. Hitherto they 
were only children. 

It may be they were wholly sanctified children, for 
we believe while regeneration is not entire sanctifica- 
tion, that it may be accomplished, if not at the same 
time, immediately afterward or at any subsequent 
time. Then comes growth. Indeed, one may grow 
and ought to grow, previous to entire sanctification, 
but generally will grow more rapidly afterward, as a 
child who has perfect health will usually grow more 
rapidly than one who has not. 

We will not take the time here to dwell on the im- 
portance and the privilege of Christian growth, but 
urge all to study well what the apostle says in 
reference to it, in that and the succeeding chapter. 

We wish, however, that none should confound 
purity with maturity and thereby make the mistake of 
trying to grow into holiness or entire sanctification, 
instead of growing in whatever state of holiness or 
sanctification may be attained. We will here quote 
some passages of the Bible, proving the attainableness 
of such a state: 

Colossians i, 23 : "Whom we preach warning every 
man and teaching every man, that we may present 
every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 

This being left upon record by inspiration proves 
conclusively that not only one in a great number may 



148 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

be made perfect by the preaching of Christ but that 
every man may be thus made perfect. This we think 
is an inevitable conclusion. 

Col. iv, 12 : "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant 
of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for 
you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete 
in all the will of God." 

This is trebly emphasized to show the completeness 
of the Christian perfection sought to be accomplished 
by the ministers of apostolic times. 0, that all minis- 
ters of the present day would labor as fervently as they 
did for the same object. 

II Tim. iii, 16, 17: "All scripture is given by in- 
spiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for re- 
proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works.' ' 

This passage shows that the Bible was given, not 
only that the man of God might be perfect, but that he 
might be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, 
proving that this perfection was not to be in character 
only, but in all good works. As good works are done 
in this life, this shows that perfection is to be attained 
in this life as a necessary consequence. 

We next call attention to passages of the inspired 
word where prayers are offered that persons may be 
perfect. 

Heb. xiii, 20, 21 : "Now the God of peace, that 
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 149 

the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every 
good work, to do his will, working in you that which 
is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to 
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." 

First. We cannot suppose that God would inspire 
an apostle to pray for anything that was not possible 
or His will to bestow. 

Second. Not only is it impossible for me to con- 
ceive of an inspired man writing a prayer which 
he did not expect would be answered in this 
world, wthout stating the fact in connection therewith, 
but there is connected with this prayer works which 
must necessarily be done in this world, and therefore 
we must conclude that it was possible for the Hebrews 
to be made perfect in this world. Inasmuch as the 
Bible declares that God is no respecter of persons, we 
must conclude that all Christians may thus be made 
perfect. 

Third. We are also taught in this passage that it is 
through the blood of Christ this work is wrought. We 
also refer to James, i, 4: "But let patience have her 
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, want- 
ing nothing." The fact that patience is a 4 grace exer- 
cised in this life proves that the perfection which is 
the result of such exercise is attainable in this world. 

I Peter, v, 10: "But the God of all grace, who 
hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, 
after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, 
establish, strengthen, settle you." 

At first view this might seem to indicate that it is 



150 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

necessary that considerable time should elapse between 
justification and perfection, inasmuch as Peter prays 
that, after that ye have suffered awhile, ye may be 
perfect. But, if we examine the context, it will be 
evident that the apostle means that though your ad- 
versary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about 
seeking whom he may devour, though they suffer afflic- 
tions therefrom, God Will perfect, establish, strengthen, 
settle them in spite of all opposition. For this he 
ardently prays. 

We have now examined (1) Three passages in which 
all are commanded to be perfect. (2) Three in which 
persons are exhorted to be perfect. (3) Five in which 
persons are said to have been perfect in this world. 
(4) Four in which God is said to have instituted means 
by which Christians may be made perfect; and (5) 
Three in which prayers are offered by inspired men, and 
placed upon record for our instruction, that men may 
become perfect and live a perfect life in this world. 

These eighteen passages form overwhelming proof 
of the attainableness of such a state and of the possi- 
bility of such a life. 

We now call attention to passages which prove the 
possibility of attaining an entirely sanctified life in 
this world. We have already stated that this is only 
another form of expressing the same that is 
meant by Christian perfection. Probably there is no 
single passage that contains a more perfect epitome of 
instruction on this subject than that standing at the 
head of this section. We therefore will, as well as 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 151 

we can, call attention to the teachings of this passage 
and to others corroborating these teachings : 

/ Thessalonians v, 28, 24: " And the very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God your whole 
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

" Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." 

We have already shown by our remarks contained in 
our first chapter, that those for whom the apostle is pray- 
ing in this verse were converted and yet not wholly 
sanctified, and that few if any Christians are 
wholly sanctified at the time of conversion. Now 
we want to know as fully as we can learn just 
what it is to sanctify wholly. We believe it 
will be generally agreed by all who believe in sanctifi- 
cation, as taught in the Bible, that to sanctify means 
to set apart from unholy to holy purposes. 

In the work of sanctification as taught in the Bible 
we find : First. That man is to sanctify himself and 
what belongs to him. 

Exodus xiii, 2: "Sanctify unto me all the first 
born." 

Exodus xix, 10 : rt And the Lord said unto Moses,, 
go unto the people and sanctify them to-day and to- 
morrow." 

Leviticus xx, 7: "Sanctify yourselves therefore 
and be holy; for I am the Lord, your God." 

We find only one passage in the New Testament 
which speaks of any person sanctifying himself or anj 



152 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

one else, and that is in I Peter iii, 15 : " But sanctify 
the Lord God in your hearts." 

It is probable that this means that we are to bring 
our hearts to God as an offering, and ask Him to take 
them and create in us a clean heart and renew a right 
spirit within us, and then to take up His abode in our 
hearts that He may dwell there by faith. It is evident 
that in the Old Testament times persons were ex- 
pected to sanctify their children, and prophets 
preached and, as servants of God, were to sanctify the 
people by a ceremonial, circumcision, washings, or by 
the offering of sacrifices to God. But it is evident 
that they were not unacquainted with a real offering 
of themselves, with all they had and were, to God and to 
His service, in the name of a promised Saviour ; and that 
some of them by faith, claimed and obtained the 
sanctifying or cleansing agency of the Holy Spirit, by 
the cleansing blood of Christ, of which their cere- 
monial cleansing was only a type. 

This is indicated in Psalm iv, 5 : " Offer the sacri- 
fice of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord." 

Also Psalm li, 15, 16, 17: "0 Lord open thou my 
lips and I will show forth thy praise. 

"For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give 
it ; thou delightest not in burnt offerings. 

" The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken 
and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise." 

Under the Christian dispensation all our offerings 
to God are to be of a spiritual nature, that they 
may be acceptable. It is true we are taught to offer 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 153 

our bodies and all our material substance to God; 
but this is to be done from or in the heart or spiritual 
nature. 

We are taught this in John iv, 23, 24: " But the 
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipper 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for 
the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

" God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must 
-worship him in spirit and in truth." 

The true idea then is, that when the Christian 
finds, as he will by the illuminating influence of the 
Holy Spirit, that his whole heart is not given up to 
God ; that though he loves God and all that is godly, 
intensely, compared to what he did before his con- 
version, yet he does not love Him with all the heart, 
and mind, and soul, and strength he will feel when 
fully awakened. 

" 'lis worse than vain my God to love, 
And not my God alone." 

He realizes he does not keep fully this greatest com- 
mandment in the law. He is still possessed of the 
carnal mind, of which Paul says: 

Romans viii, 7: "The carnal mind is enmity 
against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, 
neither indeed can be." 

Feeling this very deeply he ought to seek earnestly 
to be freed from this carnal mind, and to have all the 
mind which was in Christ. How is he to be freed 
from this carnal mind, this Adamic nature, this old 



154 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

man? Why, by bringing it to the cross and nailing 
it there? Then he should reckon himself to be dead 
indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, If this is done by faith in Christ 
he will immediately feel that the old man is slain and 
the new man raised up within him. He will also have 
the witness of the Spirit to this fact if he looks for it 
as we are taught in 

/ John v, 10 : " He that believeth on the Son of 
God hath the witness in himself." 

This is true of entire sanctification as well as of 
justification. We are fully sanctified by faith in God 
as well as justified thereby. We think the opinion 
expressed by many well meaning Christians that they 
or anyone else are regenerated or sanctified because 
they have faith in God, is an erroneous conclusion. 
They need testimony as to whether or no their faith 
is such as to be approved of God. This testimony 
they can only obtain by the witness of the Spirit as 
declared in God's word: "He that believeth on the 
Son of God hath a witness in himself." 

To what has he witness? 

Why, that he thus believes. That is, the Spirit 
witnesses that his faith is accepted of God, and con- 
sequently that whatever blessing or state of grace he 
is seeking God bestows. 

Let no one then conclude that he himself or anyone 
else has obtained anything of the Lord unless he has 
the witness of the Spirit to the fact. 

If it be asked, how may one know whether he has 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 155- 

the witness of the Spirit, we answer, by an internal 
impression made by the Spirit of God. 

If it is still asked " How may one know whether the 
impression comes by the Spirit or from some other 
source ?" we answer, "If we ask God to do it He 
will give us a consciousness of the fact so convincing 
that we cannot reasonably doubt." 

Having thus far noticed mainly how entire sanctifica- 
tion is to be obtained, and what agency the seeker has- 
in obtaining it, we call more particular attention to 
what God has to do in this work. We can only present 
ourselves, body, soul and spirit, to be wholly sanctified, 
and then believe that God will, and even that He does, 
wholly sanctify. 

What, then, is the work of entire sanctification, so 
far as God is concerned? 

We answer: "It is to receive the offering we make; 
unholy as the offering may be He will make it pure 
and holy through the blood of His Son, set it apart to 
holy purposes, and witness to the seeker by His Spirit 
that the work is done." 

We conclude from what is said in the words "and I 
pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be pre- 
served blameless unto the coming of our Lord, Jesu& 
Christ," that in sanctifying wholly one must be rendered 
blameless in the whole spirit, and soul, and body. We 
can scarcely conceive of a clearer and fuller description 
of a perfect Christian. That one should attain such a 
state and be preserved in it until Christ comes implies 
that this may be the case unto the end of life. But it 



156 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

inevitably implies also a blameless state of life for a 
greater or less extent of time. But this is not all. The 
apostle says: "Faithful is he that callethyou who also 
will, do it." We must infer that he means that God 
calls all Christians to seek a state of purity, and that 
He will, if they trust Him to do it, grant what they 
seek. 

Now let us review for a moment the force of these 
scriptural proofs. We have already done this up to 
the consideration of this text. This of itself, with the 
quotations we have made in connection therewith, is 
an incontrovertible proof of our position. Now we 
would add to this that the history of the Christian 
church from the apostle's day to the present, proves 
that in every period and under a great variety of cir- 
cumstances the most reliable Christians who have ever 
lived have sought, believed they had attained, and 
received the witness of the Spirit that they had at- 
tained such a state. And the lives of many of these 
bear witness that they had attained such a state and 
lived such lives. 

Probably there never was a time in the history of the 
•Christian church when there were so many witnesses 
to the truth of the doctrine and to the blessed reality 
of this experience as at the present. The witnesses who 
would be believed should they testify that they had 
proved anything by experiment, bear witness that they 
had experienced this great blessing. And yet many will 
doubt because they think some, it may be many, live 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 157 

inconsistent with their profession, while they are ready 
to admit many others live consistently. 

Is this reasonable? Would any like to be so judged 
in regard to their profession of regeneration? They 
certainly would not. We purpose in a future 
chapter to give the testimony of some who, in the 
past and at the present, have sought and attained 
this state. 

We now simply draw the final conclusion that the 
scriptures being so full of proof and instruction on 
this subject, and the experience and lives of so many 
believers of the Bible demonstrating the truth of 
these teachings, set the matter quite beyond reason- 
able doubt. 

We now call attention to the fact that the attain- 
ableness of such a state, and the living of such a life,, 
is clearly taught in the writings and hymns of all the 
Methodist churches and in the discipline of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. The sentiments of Methodist 
authors upon this subject are too well known to make 
it necessary for us to quote them. 

We have often wondered and regretted that, a& 
important as this doctrine was considered by Mr. 
Wesley and his helpers, and by the leading members 
of the Methodist churches, that the doctrine was not 
clearly and fully stated in our articles of faith as 
published in the discipline. The only reference I 
find made to it in the discipline is on page 222> 
paragraph 403: "The ends of this fellowship are, the- 
maintenance of sound doctrine and of the ordinance 



158 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

of Christian worship, and the exercise of that power 
of Godly admonition and discipline which Christ 
has committed to His church for the promotion of 
holiness." 

As this plainly states that the object of the institu- 
tion of the church was for the promotion of holiness, 
it undoubtedly implies that holiness is a cardinal 
doctrine of the church. 

On page 94, paragraph 151, we find : Question 2nd — 
Are you going on to perfection? Question 3d — 
Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life? 
Question 4th — Are you earnestly striving after it? 

These questions are to be asked of all ministers who 
are candidates for admission into full connection with 
the conference. The inevitable inference from these 
questions and answers is that, as a church, we require 
our ministers not only to believe in the attainableness 
of this experience, but that they profess to either 
have attained such experience or to be earnestly seek- 
ing it. And as they are under obligation to teach all 
the doctrines of the church they must necessarily, if 
they do their duty, teach this also. If they were 
faithful in the discharge of this duty doubtless a 
much larger proportion of our ministers and members 
would attain to perfect love and live holy lives. 
Certainly we would not be mortified by the declaration 
of some ministers and of many members that they do 
not believe any such state attainable in this life. 
Again, if we readily believe God has committed 
•doctrine, discipline, godly admonition, to us for the 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 159 

promotion of holiness, as is declared in the address 
given to every member who is received in full con- 
nection in the church, it seems to us there ought not 
to be the opposition we sometimes find to the very 
mention of holiness from the members of our church. 

Dear brethren, let one who loves the church of 
Christ, that church which He has purchased with His 
own blood, beseech you to consider well the relation 
you sustain to that church and the obligations growing 
out of that relation. Consider what is said by an 
apostle of Christ: 

Ephesians v, 25, 26, 27: "Even as Christ also loved 
the church and gave himself for it, that He might 
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by 
the word, that he might present it to Himself a 
glorious church not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
such thing ; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish." 

Can you, dear brethren, disregard the very object 
Christ had in giving Himself for His church that He 
might sanctify and cleanse it and present it to Himself 
a glorious church, holy and without blemish? Can 
you as ministers, who are designed of your Saviour to 
promote the interest of that church, fail to urge the 
members thereof to seek earnestly for the application 
of that blood to their hearts which cleanseth from all 
unrighteousness, and to seek for the fullness of the 
love of God shed abroad in their hearts by the gift of 
the Holy Spirit? 



160 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Oh, this uttermost salvation, 
'Tis a fountain full and free, 

Pure, exhaustless, ever flowing, 
Wondrous grace, it reaches me. 

It reaches me, it reaches me; 

Wondrous grace, it reaches me; 
Pure, exhaustless, ever flowing, 

Wondrous grace, it reaches me. 

How amazing God's compassion, 
That so vile a worm should prove, 

This stupendous bliss of heaven, 
This unmeasured wealth of love. 

Jesus, Saviour, I adore Thee, 
Now Thy love I would proclaim; 

I would tell the blessed story, 
I would magnify Thy name. 

Soon Thy saints shall rise to meet Thee* 
With Thee in Thy Kingdom reign; 

Thine the praise, and Thine the glory, 
Lamb of God for sinners slain. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 161 

CHAPTER VI. 

ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION" AS EXHIBITED BY AUTHORS. 

/ Tliessalonians v, 23: "And I pray God your whole 
body and soul and spirit be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He 
that calleth you, who also will do it." 

Having in two chapters called attention to over- 
whelming proof of the doctrine of Christian perfec- 
tion, drawn from the Bible and confirmed by the 
experience of many of the best Christians who have 
ever lived and who now live, and having referred to the 
fact that Methodist authors in their hymns and other 
works have declared their belief in the doctrine, and 
that it is clearly taught in the discipline of the M. E. 
Church, we come now to call more particular attention 
to the triune agent of accomplishing this glorious 
work and to what is meant by this work. 

It is quite certain we can never fully understand all 
that is meant by the work of entire sanctification, but 
probably the best language possible is used in the 
words we have quoted at the head of this chapter to 
convey to our minds the greatness of this work. 

The author of this work is the very God of Peace. 
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are this triune God. 

He knows the work to be done, how to do it, when 
it is done, has promised to and unquestionably will do 
it, and give us the witness of his Spirit that it is done. 
21 



162 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

lirst. What is it? He will make and keep blame- 
less. 

Second. How long? Unto the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

Third. What will He thus make and keep blame- 
less? The whole spirit, soul and body. 

The spirit of man has well been styled the chief, the 
ruling sovereign of humanity. Its sway is indisput- 
able. The soul and body are the subjects of this 
miniature kingdom. To determine just where the line 
of distinction lies between the spirit and the soul, 
as seen by God, it is probable we cannot. Indeed, it 
is difficult to definitely mark the distinction between 
the soul and the body, but He who hath made and 
knows what is in man knows perfectly these dis- 
tinctions. If, therefore, the idea that man is a 
miniature kingdom within himself is true, that the 
spirit is the ruler and the soul and body are sub- 
ject to the spirit, and God in his triune nature as 
the supreme sovereign proposes to bring back that 
kingdom, ruler and all, from its rebellion against Him 
to its rightful obedience to His will, He knows just 
how it is to be done and can do it. He can make the 
whole manhood blameless. The will, doubtless the 
ruling principle of the spirit, surrendering to the 
sovereignty of God, the whole manhood is surrendered 
to Him (with all that belongs thereto), given up to 
God. The intellect, perceptions, memory, judgment, 
conscience, the affections, and the body as well, are 
surrendered and wholly given up to him. He accepts 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 163 

the surrender ; makes the will blameless, conforming 
it to His own ; the mind blameless, giving us the mind 
which was also in Christ; the preceptions, understand- 
ing what is pure and what is impure; the memory, 
retaining the right and dismissing the wrong; the 
conscience, quick to feel the right and the wrong ; the 
judgment, to decide for God, the right and the true; 
and the affections, to love God supremely, and all that 
is good, pure and holy; and the body, to speak and to 
do what the blameless spirit and soul approve. And 
the whole being thus freed from evil, cleansed from all 
sin and sinfulness, and filled with God and goodness, 
is made and kept blameless unto the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

We are told that God, who hath called Christians 
to all this is faithful — who also will do it. It would 
seem as though the fact that God hath called to this 
state and life, ought to be sufficient to induce every 
Christian to seek it most earnestly, then the assurance 
that He who has called His faithful to do the work, 
ought to command the faith of all Christians that 
He will do it. 

In view of that, 0, Christian brother or sister, per- 
mit me to ask, if you are not Nameless, in spirit, soul or 
body, why is it? 

As it is said in / Thessalonians iv, 3: "For this is the 
will of God even your sanctification," and this is written 
of persons (as we have before seen) who were sample 
Christians to all in Macedonia and Achaia and 
therefore must have been partially sanctified, we must 



164 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

conclude the apostle must have meant that it was the 
will of God that they should ~be> what he prays in the 
next chapter they may he, sanctified wholly. 

But this is not all. We must conclude, as it is the 
will of God, that the Christians at Thessalonica be sanc- 
tified wholly, and Gol is no respecter of persons, that 
it is His will that all Christians everywhere should be 
thus sanctified. Then, if you are not so sanctified, are 
you not resisting His will? 

Again, as it is said, I Cor., i, 30: "But of Him are 
ye in Christ Jesus, who of G-od is made unto us wis- 
dom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp- 
tion ?" 

As God has made Christ to be sanctification as well 
as righteousness (or justification) and redemption, are 
you who neglect to receive Him in your entire sancti- 
fication not dishonoring God who has made Him to be 
sanctification for you, and Christ who is so made? 0! 
will you continue to do that ? 

We are rejoiced to know that the ministry and laity 
of many of the churches are warming up to this sub- 
ject, and that many are seeking and obtaining sl clear 
and blessed experience, and are ready to testify to the 
power of God to save to the uttermost. 

We now call attention to the importance of such 
testimony. 

We observe that many ministers and members object 
to frequent profession of such an attainment because 
some profess it and their lives do not correspond with 
their profession, and therefore their professing it 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTEKMOST. 165 

brings a reproach upon the cause. This is true, but it 
is no less true of making a profession of justification 
and regeneration, and yet few of those who object to 
the profession of entire sanctification on this ground 
would advocate the omission of a profession of regen- 
eration on the same ground. 

But it is said that a state of entire sanctification re- 
quires so much purer and holier life to exemplify it, 
and a failure brings so much greater reproach upon 
the cause as a consequence. We are not quite certain 
of that. We find John the Evangelist saying: I John, 
iii, 9: •" Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, 
for His seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin, be- 
cause he is born of God." And again, I John, iii, 10: 
"In this the children of God are manifested, and the 
children of the devil ; whosoever doeth not righteous- 
ness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his 
brother." 

Here then we learn that anyone who is lorn of 
God, as well as he who is wholly sanctified, cannot 
commit sin, but must do righteousness, or right. 

What the scripture says in this regard all right- 
minded Christians say, and even sinners say as much, 
that the child of God ought not to sin, but ought to do 
right; and the world will judge of them; if they do sin 
and do not do right they are of the devil, and their own 
hearts condemn them. 

Then one is ready to say there are no children of 
God. Not quite so fast, my brother. The child of God 
cannot sin while his seed remaineth in him, but let 



166 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

that seed depart and he may sin. What then? Why, 
if he immediately repent, confessing his sins, God 
is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse him from 
all unrighteousness. But the regenerate man, having 
the carnal mind, or the old man, the Adamic nature, 
by that nature is prompted to sin ; yet, while God's 
seed (His own Son) remaineth in him he keeps the old 
man under, and does not sin ; and, while the old man 
would disincline him to do right, the new man (the 
seed) enables him to overcome the old man, and he does 
right. But there is a continual warfare within, an 
internecine (the worst kind of a war), though, if we 
depend upon Christ, our Captain, we shall gain the 
victory every time. But when entirely sanctified the 
old man is slain, is cast out, then Christ lives and 
reigns within, reigns without a rival. There is no 
longer an internal foe. Victory is easier, for we con- 
tend only with a luring world and a tempting devil. 
Christ has overcome the world, and with Him reigning 
in us by His Spirit, inspiring such a faith as will over- 
come, we have the victory over the world. Victory 
through the blood of the Lamb. And the devil is a con- 
quered foe, for Christ, who reigns within, has overcome 
him, and fights our battles for us while our faith alides 
in Him. Hallelujah to the Lamb ! 

I know I am writing what many will recognize as 
true in a blessed experience. Tell me then has the 
wholly sanctified Christian no advantage over the 
merely justified and regenerated? Yes, verily, for 
while the regenerate, to maintain a consistent life, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 167 

must cease from sin and learn to do well, and the 
wholly sanctified can do no more, the latter has no in- 
ternal promptings to sin and no disinclination, but a 
ruling delight in doing right. 

It has been objected that a profession of such a state 
appears too much like boasting and savors of pride. 
We reply, not when the professor ascribes all the glory 
to Christ, as every one I have ever heard has done. I 
must say that I have of late years become acquainted with 
and heard a great many professors of entire sanctifica- 
tion testify to the saving power of God through Christ, 
and,as a class, they appear to me to be the most humble 
Christians I have ever met. More than that, I am 
ready to say, while I have seen a few that I thought did 
not live very consistent lives yet generally I think they 
are as consistent if not more so than the average of the 
Christians of my acquaintance. It is said by many that 
it is better to live a holy life and to let the life testify 
to our holiness than to make a profession of such an 
experience. Let us see what the word of God says: 

I Timothy vi, 11, 12 : " But thou, man of God, 
flee these things ; and follow after righteousness, god- 
liness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the 
good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where- 
unto thou art also called, and hast professed a good 
profession before many witnesses." 

This is an undoubted commendation by Paul of 
Timothy's profession of righteousness, godliness, faith^ 
love, patience and meekness. 

Hebreivs x, 22, 23, 24, 25 : " Let us draw near with 



168 SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our 
bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast 
the profession of our faith without wavering; for He 
is faithful that promised. And let us consider one 
another to provoke unto love, and to good works; 
not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, 
as the manner of some is ; but exhorting one another ; 
and so much the more as ye see the day approach- 
ing." 

This seems to be a very clear and full recommenda- 
tion to hold meetings for the promotion of holiness, 
Let us see. Having an High Priest over the house, 
(or church) of God (of which we are apart), let us draw 
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, hav- 
ing (or that we may have) our hearts sprinkled from 
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure 
water. This undoubtedly contemplates this house or 
church of God as assembled together, and through 
their High Priest, drawing near to the Christian altar 
(whether that altar be considered the cross or the 
Saviour who hung and bled thereon), in full assurance 
of faith that they might have their hearts (by the 
sprinkling of the blood of Christ, which cleanseth 
from all unrighteousness), sprinkled from an evil 
conscience. And then, this being accomplished, he 
says: " Let us holdfast the profession of our faith, 
without wavering." 

This is just what professors of holiness are striving 
to do ; and, what they believe they are prompted by 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 169 

the Spirit of the living God to do. And here we find 
that the Bible, inspired by the same Spirit, teaches 
them to do it. Then let them hold fast to the pro- 
fession of their faith, notwithstanding all the objec- 
tions which may be brought against it, and then " let 
them consider one another and provoke one another to 
faith and good works," and, that they may do this 
the more effectually, "let them not forsake the 
assembling of themselves together but exhort one 
another." These passages are sufficient to not only 
justify a profession of whatever state of grace one 
may have attained through faith in Christ, but to 
make it a duty so to do. 

We have often of late heard profession criticised 
and a preference given to confession. I have taken 
pains to examine these words as used in the Bible in 
connection with Christian experience, and have found 
the three instances we have quoted in which we 
have seen that profession is both commended and 
enjoined as a duty, while we find only one in Romans 
x, 10: "For with the heart man believeth unto 
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation." 

Confession, cannot naturally be here understood as 
a statement of Christian experience. It evidently 
means that a man (not a Christian) believeth unto 
righteousness (or unto justification) and with the 
mouth confession is made unto salvation. Confession 
unto salvation, not that he is saved. That, is a 
matter of profession. But confession here evidently 



170 SALYATIOK TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

means the same as in / John i, 9 : " If we confess our 
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 
and to cleanse us from ull unrighteousness." Then, 
being pardoned, we are justified, and being cleansed 
from all unrighteousness, we are holy. Then we may 
properly profess and not confess our justification and 
holiness. 

We close the subject by stating that every one who 
is saved, to whatever degree, naturally feels that he 
ought to bear witness to the fact that Jesus has saved 
him, and that as a witness he must tell the truth, the 
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. God requires 
this and in default of our refusing to do it, just as we 
are able, He will punish us for the neglect of duty. 
Hence we have found that Wesley and his helpers and 
all modern advocates of holiness, or all who feel that 
God has raised them up and called them to spread 
scriptural holiness, insist that every one who is made 
perfect, entirely sanctified, or perfect in love by the 
power of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, shall, on 
all suitable occasions, bear testimony to that fact. As 
to how often and on what occasions it may be proper 
honest ministers and Christians may differ. We think 
it safest to be guided by the Spirit. Certainly it is 
not improper at any time or in any place in which it 
is proper to testify to what God has done for us, to 
testify to all He has done. 

We do not consider it necessary to encumber this work 
by quotations from the writings of any of the advocates 
of scriptural holiness to show that they recommend its 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 1?1 

recipients to bear testimony that they are recipients. 
It would add nothing to the authority of G-od's word 
already quoted, and to the convictions of duty which 
will come to every fully sanctified heart by the opera- 
tion of the Holy Spirit. 



172 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

THE PROFESSION OP ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION A DUTY- 
REFERENCE TO AUTHORS. 

Hitherto we have shown by the Bible that entire 
sanctification is attainable, a duty and a privilege, and 
that Christians ought to profess or what is substan- 
tially the same thing to confess it, that one may 
have the witness of the Spirit that he is wholly sancti- 
tified. 

We now refer to other authors to the same effect. 
When the scriptures show that it is the will of God 
that persons attain any state of grace every reliable 
witness who testifies that he has attained such a state 
adds force to the evidence that it is attainable. Hence 
we see the reasonableness of testifying to any and all 
attainments. 

We refer, First. To the experience and teachings of 
Bishop L. L. Hamline, D. D., of the M. E. Church. For 
some time he had been much exercised upon the sub- 
ject of perfect love, or Christian perfection. In March 
of the year 1842, the Kev. W. V. Daniels, who was 
deeply experienced in sanctifying grace, was holding a 
meeting in New Albany. 

The biographer of Bishop Hamline (Walter C. 
Palmer, M. D.), says: "He reached the town on 
Saturday and in the evening heard a sermon on "Per- 
fect Love," which was followed by inviting believers 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 173 

to approach the altar and pray for that blessing. He 
with many others bowed before the Lord for more than 
an hour. Through the Sabbath which followed he had 
power with God, and much of the time was in a deep 
struggle for holiness of heart. 

On Monday morning he rose early, and wrapping his 
cloak around him, continued until breakfast time to 
plead for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Hastily par- 
taking of a slight repast he returned to his chamber 
and fell upon his knees. While entreating God for a 
clean heart, his mind was led to contemplate " the 
image of Christ " as the only object of desire. To be 
Christ-like, to possess " all the mind that was in the 
blessed Saviour seemed to embrace all good, and this 
became the burden of his prayer." 

After further describing his struggle, which lasted 
for two days, his biographer says : "All at once he felt 
as though a hand, not feeble but omnipotent, not of 
wrath but of love, were laid on his brow. He felt it 
not only outwardly but inwardly. It seemed to press 
upon his whole being, and to diffuse all through and 
through it a holy sin-consuming energy. As it passed 
downward his heart as well as his head was conscious 
of the presence of this soul-cleansing energy, under the 
influence of which he fell to the floor, and in the sur- 
prise of the moment cried out]in a loqd voice. Still that 
hand of power wrought without and within, and 
wherever it moved it seemed to leave the glorious im- 
press of the Saviour's image. For a few minutes the 



174 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

depth of God's love swallowed him up, all its waves 
and billows rolled over him." 

But Satan was there, quick and subtle in his strat- 
agem. "Shame," said he, "that you should make this 
ado to the disgrace of religion, and to the mortification 
of those whose hospitalities you share." He saw that 
it was an evil thought, and strove against it ; but after 
a short conflict it prevailed. He became silent, his 
feelings subsided, and he arose and proceeded to the 
meeting-house where the pious were gathered for the 
worship of God. His heart still burned within him, 
and his Saviour whispered words of holy comfort to his 
soul. 

Though so clearly brought into the enjoyment of 
entire sanctification he did not for several months at 
all times retain the witness of it, but like the de- 
voted Fletcher, and many others of similar experience, 
occasionally yielded to the tempter by refraining from 
unequivocally testifying with his lips of the great sal- 
vation, while the testimony of his life was not wanting. 
From this he suffered and says: " For some eighteen 
months I was like Samson shorn, because I did not 
confess God's goodness towards me. But at the session 
of the Ohio Conference in Chillicothe, September, 1843, 
I made confession unto salvation." 

This shows with what earnestness this eminent man 
of God, with other believers sought this as an attain- 
ment subsequent to that of regeneration, when he was 
by no means a backslider but enjoying a clear evidence 
that he was a child of God. That he then obtained a 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEK3I0ST. 175 

clear evidence (by the witness of the Spirit) that he 
was wholly sanctified, and that being tempted (as many 
others do) he neglected to testify to what God had 
done for him, and as a consequence he measurably lost 
his assurance, and that at last, convinced of his error 
and danger, he ever afterward was ready to bear testi- 
mony to this great salvation. 

We cannot be more forcibly impressed with the 
value of such testimony and with the obligation of all 
to give it than by a reference to the report of a ser- 
mon preached by Bishop Hamline by F. G-. Hibbard, 
D. D., who says: "I shall never forget his sermon at 
our Genesee Conference in 1847. It is true, it was a 
subject peculiarly suited to his genius ; it is true, also, 
that an uncommon power of the Holy Ghost rested 
upon him ; but it was still, as to the human part of 
it, the product of his own mind, within the compass 
of his own capabilities. If it showed what the Holy 
<xhost could do with our dilapidated humanity, it 
showed also to what heights the soul" may rise, what 
reach and compass it may take in when inspired by 
the Holy Spirit, without once taking it out of its 
fallen and impaired state. It was Sabbath afternoon. 
The weather was fine and the house was crowded 
in every part. Ministers were there, judges and law- 
yers were there, educated and professional men were 
there, the ignorant and unlettered were there; there 
were earnest believers and empty skeptics and careless 
sinners. The text was Isaiah xliii, 10 ; Luke xxiv, 48 : 



176 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

"Ye are My witnesses," "Ye are witnesses of these 
things." 

The proposition he laid down was: " The testimony 
of the pious proves the reality of Christian experi- 
ence." 

He proceeded briefly to define Christian experience 
under the three particulars of " conviction, con- 
version, and sanctification by the Holy Ghost." 

The heads of discourse were two: First, the testi- 
mony; Second, the witness. 

As to testimony, it is of two kinds, written and un- 
written. Written testimony is also of two kinds: record 
and not record testimony. Record testimony is made up 
of the recital of Christian experience in the Bible. 
They call it record, (1) Because it is made up under 
the inspection of the Supreme Judge; (2) Because all 
theologians in Christendom (out of Babylon) refer to 
it as the ultimate judge in controversies. Its details 
of the experience of Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Paul 
and the beloved disciple are record testimony of Chris- 
tian experience. Written testimony not of record is the 
biographies of Newton, Gardner, Rochester, Wesley, 
Fletcher, Payson, Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. 
Ramsay, Mrs. Graham, etc. Parol testimony is such 
as is given in our class-meetings, love-feasts, and in 
the streets or by the fireside, or wherever the pious talk 
of their own experience. 

Second. The witnesses. They are (1) competent, (2) 
credible. They are not incompetent (1) for crime, (2) 
for interest, and (3) for ignorance. They are credible 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 177 

(1) on account of their number, (2) their variety of 
clime, habit, etc., (3) their harmony — differences on 
other points of sects, etc., lost here, (4) on account of 
their perseverance, martyrs, etc. 

Objections: (1) Your witnesses are ignorant. So 
much the better. They are not likely to invent or 
carry out an imposition. (2) They are interested par- 
tisans. Yes, on your side (as Paul, Gardner, etc.) (3) 
They are opposing witnesses. (4) Eetracting witnesses. 
Yes, but they are perjured. (5) Your witnesses are 
not sworn. But they testify in death. 

Improvement. (1) They must testify. Christians 
must, ministers especially. Acts, i, 8: "Ye shall re- 
ceive power/' that is, to be witnesses. Acts, v, 32: 
"We are His witnesses, and so also is the Holy G-host." 
Luke, xxiv, 48, 49: "Ye are witnesses of these things. 
And behold, I send the promise of the Father upon 
you." In all these cases the Holy Spirit is especially 
promised in regard to our fidelity as- witnesses for 
Christ. Kemember, witness is sworn to tell the truth, 
the whole truth. (2) We must live holy that our tes- 
timony may be believed ; but a holy life will never do in 
place of testimony. " With the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation." Paul's holy life would have 
done nothing for Christ if he had not testified about 
conversion. Stephen's, happy death would not have 
been traced to his religion but that he testified, "I see 
heaven opened," etc. 

Dr. Hibbard further says: "Such is a transcript of 
the sketch which lay before him as he spoke. His sub- 



178 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

ject was introduced and laid out before the mind with 
wonderful brevity and the most transparent clearness. 
Every point was so well made and 30 legitimate that 
the common judgment and conscience indorsed it, and 
the perpetual analogy of the laws of testimony in civil 
courts so perfectly sustained that the auditor was driven 
to the alternative of setting aside all laws of evidence 
on which the whole system of criminal jurisprudence 
rests, or admitting the reality of Christian experience 
as sustained by the witness of Jesus." 

No more is needed to show that that eminent man 
of God, probably as well versed in the doctrine and 
deeply experienced in Christian perfection as any living 
in the present century, believed in the necessity of 
bearing witness to its attainment in order to retain it. 

We now quote two extracts to illustrate his views of 
constancy in talking about and teaching it. He said of 
himself: " Before I received the blessing of entire 
sanctification it seemed more difficult to apprehend the 
sanctification of the body than the sanctification of the 
soul ; but when the great work of the Spirit was ac- 
complished a hand of power was laid upon me which 
seemed to leave such a divine impress upon my body 
that it has ever since been quite as easy, if not more so, 
to apprehend the sanctification of the body than of the 
soul and spirit." Again, "You cannot talk too much 
about perfect love. Were I able I would preach about 
it as never before, and if not able to preach about it 
in the pulpit I will talk about it, and if not able to 
talk will whisper about it as long as life endures and 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 179 

forever. 0! if every minister of the gospel of Christ, 
whose ' blood cleanseth from all unrighteousness, ' 
would do that, how long would it be ere every pro- 
fessor of our holy religion would be thus cleansed and 
then filled < with all the fullness of God?' " 

Bishop Simpson says as to the present attainaUeness 
of holiness : "It is not necessary that we travel down 
into the valley to find the pool of SHoam and wait for 
the coming of the angel to trouble the waters, and for 
some strong man to lift us and put us in. No, the 
fountain is all around us and flows divinely clear. The 
Son of God is waiting at this very moment to wash all 
our sins away. Have you a single stain upon your 
heart? Come to the fountain. Have you trouble and 
sorrow? Come at once and receive joy and comf ort." 

As to the reign of holiness he says : "I have fancied 
myself sitting, drawn by wild, ferocious horses ; myself 
holding the reins. The steeds are young and full of 
mettle; and taking the bits in their teeth they bear 
me on and I have not power to control them. But 
just as I am in my extremity and about to be run 
away with, I feel a sensation as though a strong man 
had come into the chariot behind me, and encircling 
me in his strong arms had stretched out his hands 
and taken the lines and was controlling my impetuous 
steeds. He does not take the fire out of them, but 
guides them, and makes them go; and I am safe, 
though flying like the wind, while this mighty 
charioteer is with me." 

As to the work of holiness he says: "In some of the 



180 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

great halls of Europe may be seen pictures not painted 
by the brush, but mosaics, made up of small pieces of 
stone, glass or other material. The artist takes these 
little pieces and, polishing and arranging them, he 
forms them into the grand and beautiful picture. 
Each individual part of the picture may be a little 
worthless piece of glass or marble, or shell ; but with 
each in its place the whole constitutes the master- 
piece of art. So I think it will be of humanity in the 
hands of the Great Artist. God is picking up the 
little worthless pieces of stone and brass, that might 
be trodden under foot unnoticed, and is making of them 
his great masterpiece." 

Holiness is a cleansing as defined in the following : 

Dr. Livingstone once asked a Bechuana what he 
understood by the word holiness. He answered, 
"When copious showers have descended during the 
night, and all the earth, and leaves, and cattle are 
washed clean, and the rising sun shows a drop of dew 
on every blade of grass and the air breathes fresh — that 
is holiness. 

At one of the ragged schools in Ireland a clergy- 
man asked the question: "What is holiness?" A poor 
Irish convert jumped up and said: "Please your 
reverence, it's to be clean inside." 

Eev. S. Cotes says: "The children of God are 
blocks of spiritual marble and have a brightness 
superior to that of gold when the polish of entire 
sanctification is put upon them." 

The Eev. Ellon Foster says of holiness : "Philoso- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 181 

phy teaches us that all the primary colors in nature 
coalesce to make pure white; so does religion teach us 
that all the Christian graces combine to make that 
'holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.' 
Objects that are purely white perfectly reflect all the 
prismatic colors of the rainbow; so does the holy heart, 
all those prime Christian graces which conspire to make 
perfect Christian character." 

The same author speaks of the power of holiness : 
"There is a moral omnipotence in holiness. Argu- 
ment may be resisted; persuasions and entreaty may be 
scorned ; the thrilling appeals and admonitions of the 
pulpit set forth with all vigor and logic, and all the 
glow of eloquence, may be evaded or disregarded ; but 
exhibition of exalted piety has a might which nothing 
can withstand ; it is truth emboldened ; it is 'the gospel 
burning in the hearts, beaming in the eyes, breathing 
from the lips and preaching in the lives of its votaries. 
No sophistry can elude it, no conscience can ward it 
off. No bosom wears a mail that can brave the energy 
of its attack. It speaks in all languages, in all climes, 
and to all phases of our nature. It is universal, in- 
vincible; and, clad in immortal panoply, goes on from 
victory to victory." He observes, "It is practical. 
The shining love of John, the burning zeal of Paul, 
were a splendid comment on their words and have made 
the way of God known better than all the arguments 
of the schoolmen. The shining and far-reaching 
power of Swartz, and Zinzendorff, and Brainard, made 
known to entire communities the great salvation. 



182 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

The generosity of Henry Thornton led some one to 
remark it is not more Boyle and Bampton lectures 
that are wanted to convert the world; it wants a 
thousand Henry Thorntons." 

P. Henry says: "Christ is the pattern, the sample, 
the exemplary cause of our sanctification. Holiness 
in us is the copy or transcript of the holiness that is in 
the Lord Jesus. As the wax hath line for line from 
the seal, the child limb for limb, feature for feature 
from the father, so is holiness in us from Christ." 

So T. W. Jenkyn says: "Holiness is the only 
means by which holiness can be diffused. It is like 
salt, its usefulness to others must begin with itself. 
The man who fails to persuade himself to be holy is 
sure to be unsuccessful with others. It is the wise man 
that can impart wisdom to others, it is the good man 
that can diffuse goodness, and it is only the holy man 
that can diffuse holiness. Every man can bring forth 
to others only out of the treasures deposited first in 
his own heart. He who undertakes to restore man- 
kind to clear-sightedness must be of clear and accu- 
rate vision himself, for he who has a beam in his own 
eye is not likely to remove either beam or moat from 
the eye of the world. The physician who is to restore 
health to others must not himself be fretting with 
leprosy." 

A. Barrett says: "Christian holiness is no fabri- 
cation of men, and differs as much from ritual and 
conventional sanctity as the temple filled with God 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 183 

differed from the same temple just as it was left by 
the builder's hand." 

Kev. J. Stoughton says : "Without holiness there can 
be no such heaven as the New Testament reveals. 
There may be scenery of surpassing grandeur, moun- 
tains, woods, rivers, and lakes most charming, but they 
do not make heaven, else a heaven might be found in 
Wales or Cumberland. There may be a capital full 
of palaces and temples, but they do not make a 
heaven, else a heaven might have been found in Delhi. 
There may be buildings of marbles and precious stones, 
but they do not make a heaven, else a heaven might 
have been in Rome or Venice. There may be health, 
and ease, and luxury, and festivities; but they do not 
make a heaven, else one would have been met with in 
Belshazzar's halls. There may be education, philoso- 
phy, poetry, literature, art, but that will not make a 
heaven, else the Greeks would have had one in Athens, 
in the grove and in the porch. Holiness is that with- 
out which no heaven can exist." 

The necessity of holiness is shown by J. B. Walker: 
"If a physician was called to see a patient who had 
a cancer on his breast, the only thing to be done would 
be to cut it out from the roots. The physician might 
give palliatives, so that the patient would have less 
pain, or he might make his patient believe it was no 
cancer, or forget that he had a cancer near his vitals,, 
but if the physician were to do this instead of removing 
the evil he would be a wicked man and the enemy of 
this patient. The man's case was such that the only 



184 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

favor which could be conferred upon him would be to 
cut out the cancer. Now all agree that sin is the great 
evil of the soul of man ; nothing can make a man more 
spiritually happy here or fit him for happiness 
hereafter but the removal of sin from his nature. Sin 
is the plague spot on the soul which destroys its peace 
and threatens its destruction unless removed. It is, 
therefore, certain that if the love of God were manifested 
towards man it would be in turning man away from 
sin, which produces misery, to holiness, which produces 
happiness." 

G. 0. Wells says: "You might as well undertake to 
check an earthquake as to prevent the going forth of 
the spirit of holiness from a soul washed with blood, 
or from a church refined by fire.' ' Why should any 
one want to prevent the going forth of the spirit of 
holiness ? 

Dr. Jenkin speaks of the unction of holiness as fol- 
lows : "The spirit of holiness gives to the church an 
aptness and a grace in all its movements and efforts for 
the conversion of the world. The influences of the 
Holy Spirit are on that account, as well as in the sweet 
odor with which they perfume the church, called ' the 
unction of the Holy One/ The Agonistes in the Gre- 
cian games anointed themselves with unguents in order 
to attain quickness, agility and nimbleness of action, 
and this gave a grace and beauty to their various move- 
ments. Before they could attain this the unguent 
must have pervaded their frames and not glistened in 
superficial application. In like manner before the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 185 

church can acquire a grace in doing good and in acting 
'af ter the Spirit ' the unction from the Holy One must 
penetrate all the muscles of its frame and all the mem- 
bers of its body." 

G. C. Wells says: "Holiness excludes selfishness. 
Its possessor loses himself in his mission so that ease, 
and honor, and riches, and everything of earth is as 
the small dust of the balance." 

We have quoted these authors, comprising leading 
men of all the leading denominations of modern times, 
with scarcely note or comment. Note or comment is 
unnecessary, as the quotations clearly set before us the 
author's views of the nature and attainableness of 
Christian holiness. 

First. That perfect holiness is subsequent to and dis- 
tinct from regeneration. 

Second. That it is necessary to the usefulness and 
happiness of the individual Christian as well as of the 
church or body of Christians in this life, and to prepare 
them for eternal glory in the world to come. This is 
the testimony of those who, having drawn their instruc- 
tions from the Bible, believing they were lead by the 
Holy Spirit, have sought this grace or state of experi- 
ence, and have obtained the evidence in their hearts 
that they have obtained what they sought. 

Third. The happy, useful and holy lives of these 
men have borne testimony to the truths they have 
taught, and many of them have sealed their testimony 
at death. Can any one reasonably doubt such testi- 
mony? We think not. In our next chapter we shall 
examine similar authority as to "Christian Perfection." 



186 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

FURTHER TESTIMONY OF AUTHORS. 

In this enlightened age even we find some in the 
M. E. Church who, when one preaches a plain sermon 
on entire sanctification and urges Christians to its at- 
tainment as a present blessing, will declare this is a 
new doctrine. For this, among other causes, we extend 
our extracts from authors eminent in the Methodist 
Church, to show that they still hold to*the doctrine and 
experience of entire sanctification as taught and expe- 
rienced by the fathers. 

Bishop E. S. Janes, in an introduction to a work on 
" Christian Purity" by E. S. Foster, now a bishop of 
the M. E. Church, asks: "To what present attain- 
ments does the word of God invite us? How sweet and 
sublime the office of answering these questions! to con- 
centrate the rays of holy scriptures on this glorious sub- 
ject, and in the strong light thus furnished enable the 
inquiring disciple to see clearly and fully his high call- 
ing of (lod in Christ Jesus. This work has been hap- 
pily performed by the author in this book." 

" In executing this important work the author has 
not set himself forth as a theological reformer. He 
has given no new and novel theory. No one in the en- 
joyment of Bible holiness and anxious for its spread 
and prevalence in the church and in the world will 
doubt that the circulation of this little volume will do 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 18? 

good, will be promotive of the glory of God in the 
sanctification of His children. * * * * If there is 
any religious truth that should be urged upon the dis- 
ciples of Jesus, with the sweetness of His constraining 
love and the solemnity of His divine authority, it is 
the truth that Christians may and ought to be 
holy." * * * * 

" Holiness is the great good, the highest destiny of 
of the militant church and the most precious interest 
of the race. A holy church would soon make a holy 
world. If the church were without spot or wrinkle, 
or any such thing, her light could not be hid. When 
the church puts on her entire strength, her influence 
must be triumphant in the world. When her hearts 
and hands, and means and influences are all devoted 
to God and His cause, her aggressive movements will be 
mighty, will be world-saving.' ' 

These brief extracts from Bishop Janes are sufficient 
to show that he fully endorses everything we have 
advanced in our humble writings as well as what we 
are about to quote from Bishop Foster upon the same 
subject. But this is not all, but they show that 
he regards them truly Wesleyan and scriptural. 
Probably there is no better modern authority. 

Then let us see what Bishop Foster says in his 
"Christian Purity," page 49: " We do not include 
in our idea of the highest attainable state, or holiness, 
infallibility, exemption in errors, in judgment, or 
intellectual perfection in any respect. We constantly 
admit that these are not to be expected in this life, nay 



188 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

more, we affirm that the most perfect and holy men 
are always subject to infirmities in these respects, 
while they remain in the body, liable to be imposed 
upon through deceptive appearances, to arrive at false 
conclusions, to perpetuate sophistical reasonings, to be 
misled by unfaithful memory, illusory observations, 
erratic imaginations, to form unauthorized surmises 
and suspicions, to entertain incorrect and even absurd 
opinions about many things and to all other sinless 
mental aberrations and imperfections incident to 
humanity in its fallen and degenerate state." In 
harmony with this Mr. Wesley says: u They," sancti- 
fied believers, "are not perfect in knowledge. They 
are not free from ignorance, no, nor from mistake. 
We are no more to expect any living man to be in- 
fallible, than to be omniscient. They are not free 
from infirmities, such as weakness or slowness of 
understanding, irregular quickness or heaviness of im- 
agination. Such, in another kind, are impropriety of 
language, ungraceful pronunciation, to which one 
might add a thousand nameless defects, either in con- 
versation or behavior. Prom such infirmities as these 
none are perfectly freed till their spirits return to 
God." 

"We do not include in our idea of the highest at- 
tainable state, physical perfection. On the contrary 
we think it consists with the greatest bodily infirm- 
ities, weakness, disease, deformity, and organic and 
structural imperfections. These are not looked upon 
separately, in themselves considered as affecting either 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 189 

to completeness, or impairing essential spiritual char- 
acter. In our code the perfect physical man may be 
the most imperfect spiritual man, and the most defect, 
ive physical man be the most complete spiritual." 

(3) " Our idea of perfection does not embrace the 
idea of perfection of conduct and feelings, that is, it 
does not suppose that the conduct and feelings will 
always be free from improprieties and irregularities, 
infallibly correct and perfect. " 

(4) " Not freedom from temptations to sin and sug- 
gestions to evil." 

(5) " Not impeccability, or liability to sin." 

(6) "Not perfection of degree, or attainment be- 
yond which there is no progress, a state in which the 
soul has gained the highest summit of holi- 
ness, the greatest reach of perfection, at which its 
progress will be stopped and where it will remain in 
monotonous equipoise through eternity." 

Having stated what we do not, let us now state 
what we do believe: (1) "We believe it a Christian's 
privilege to attain to a state of spirituality, in 
which he will be entirely free from sin, properly so 
called, both inward and outward; a state in which he 
will commit no act involving guilt, in which he will 
possess no unholy temper, including in the term 
temper the disposition of the soul, in which the entire 
outward man of the life and the inward man of the 
heart will be pure in the sight of God." We omit 
his explanations, merely quoting his definitions. 

(2) " But additionally we include in our idea of this 



190 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

highest state of Christian privilege or holiness more 
than mere freedom from sin, in the foregoing sense. 
That was merely a negative view, it has a positive 
character. We believe it to include, in the second 
place, besides this the spiritual graces, as love, meek- 
ness, humility, and such like, in perfection — perfec- 
tion not of measure, but of kind." 

After these definitions, with his explanations and 
illustrations, he quotes from Mr. Wesley to show that 
his views agree therewith. These extracts from Wesley 
we have already made in the main, and now make 
these from Foster, endorsed by Bishop Janes who, as 
we have seen, states that they agree with all the best 
authors, as well as with the inspired volume, in order 
that we may present a statement of this important 
subject, as well sustained by authority as possible. 

We now present to our readers an extract from the 
same author, especially commended by Bishop Janes as 
worthy of particular attention, which we do not recol- 
lect to have seen elsewhere: 

"There is one thing which ought to be taken into 
account here, as having a most important practical 
bearing on the subject ; the influence upon character 
of body and mind, an influence quite as discernable in 
the sanctified state as in other stages of religious 
experience. Two men equally and, if you please, 
entirely holy, may under certain circumstances 
appear with very different advantages, and may 
generally indeed exhibit quite variant manifestations 
of character. If judged of without respect to consti- 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 191 

tutional make and educational influences, and peculiar 
circumstances and temptations, they seem most 
dissimilar, when in truth they are equally holy in the 
sight of God. It is for this reason mainly that we 
ought not to judge without palpable indications. One 
man is of a highly nervous temperament, another is as 
decidedly imperturbable ; one is sanguine, the other is 
distrusting; one is impulsive, another dispassionate; 
now let all these be brought under the influence of 
sanctifying grace ; it will not change their tempera- 
ments all into one, it will not remove the constitu- 
tional difference between them, but only control and 
regulate them. They will be seen and will impart 
diversified shades to character and to different minds 
will diminish or increase the admiration or otherwise 
which character must always awaken. Certain diseases 
exert a marked influence upon all the powers of the 
soul, beclouding the understanding, obscuring the 
judgment, and otherwise affecting the various mental 
and moral exercises; this influence remains as well 
after as prior to this high and gracious experience, 
giving tone and coloring to the whole character. But 
if the connection of the soul with the body operates 
these differences of manifestation still more do the 
intellectual to the moral powers. One man has great 
wisdom, another is extremely ignorant ; one under- 
stands all the proprieties of life, another is totally 
uninformed; one is highly cultivated, the other is with- 
out these advantages. They may be, in point of fact, 
equally holy; each one has experienced sanctifying 



192 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

grace, but there will be great disparity in the outward 
manifestations ; one will appear to much greater ad- 
vantage than the other, one will fill our idea of 
perfection, the other will need to be apologized for 
frequently, not for his sins but for his ignorance. They 
may be equally animated with one principle, love; they 
are equally free from sin, but the outward manifesta- 
tions differ. This we should keep in mind both when 
we judge of others and when we judge of ourselves; it 
will save us from comparing ourselves among ourselves, 
and foolishly doing as is sometimes done, setting up 
some particular person as a model in all respects for all 
other persons. One may be buoyant, another calm ; 
one impulsive, another cool; one wise, another igno- 
rant; one attractive, another uninteresting; one con- 
versable, another dull ; one affable, another reserved ; 
one firm, another yielding ; all of them may be holy. 
But whilst holiness does not destroy these differences 
let it never be forgotten that it regulates them ; they 
are prevented from becoming sinful. This suggestion 
is eminently important. As is suggested in another 
chapter, sanctification will be evidenced by its fruits, 
but it will be extremely preposterous to suppose that 
in regard to temperament and manners it will inva- 
riably manifest itself in the same way. This is no part 
of its office — its office is to remove sin." 

The Bishop goes on to illustrate, but we must not 
extend this extract too far upon the difference between 
entire sanctification and regeneration. He says (page 
69): 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 193 

"Having described what we mean by holiness, we 
now shall proceed to show that it is a state in advance 
of justification and regeneration. " 

" Eegeneration is not entire sanctification ; the 
merely regenerate are not sanctified, they are not en- 
tirely freed from sin, they are not made perfect in 
love." 

These words clearly show that Bishop Foster con- 
siders holiness, entire sanctification, entire freedom 
from sin, and perfect love, and even sanctifica- 
tion ivithout the qualifying word entire or wholly in 
common use, are synonymous. He goes on to say: 

"Their sins are pardoned, their nature is renewed, 
they are become children of God, a wonderful and 
glorious work has been wrought for them and in them 
by which they are rescued from the dominion of sin 
and become heirs of the promises; but great and glori- 
ous as the work is which they have experienced, and 
exalted and blessed as are the privileges and destiny to 
which it entitles them and will assuredly secure to 
them if retained, yet it is not a complete qualification 
for heaven, an entire freedom from sin; they are not, 
however glorious their state, how much to be esteemed 
and prized — and no language can magnify its moment 
— they are not completely holy, entirely sanctified; the 
old man of sin is not dead but subjugated, not cast 
out but bound, not crucified but brought into cap- 
tivity." 

We perfectly agree with the author so far as we can 
understand except in the expression "Yet it (referring 
25 



194 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

to justification and regeneration) is not a complete 
qualification for heaven." When we read this we nat- 
urally inquired, "If a soul, justified and converted, 
becoming, according to our Saviour's words, like little 
children, was to suddenly die, (as many might) would 
they go to heaven ?" We could but conclude they 
would, and on just the same ground (whatever that 
might be) on which "little children," whom the young 
convert is like, go to heaven. We can but further 
conclude that just as long as such convert remains a 
child of God (though not wholly sanctified), he will 
go to heaven on the same ground. This seems to us 
to be clearly proved by Rom. viii, 16, 17: "The Spirit 
itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the 
children of God ; and if children, then heirs," etc. 

/ Peter ix, 3, 4: " Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His 
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively 
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
dead." 

"To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and 
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." 

These passages both unquestionably refer to simply 
converted or regenerate Christians, and yet definitely 
state that they are heirs to an inheritance in heaven. 
We think that though they are still possessed of the 
old man, an evil nature inherited by generations, that 
on some ground (known to God) He does destroy the 
old man, if not before death, on the faith of the pos- 
sessor at death, and takes him to heaven. This as we 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTEKMOST. 195 

understand it is the teaching of Wesley, and the only 
view by which we can harmonize all the teachings of 
the Bible. 

We can scarcely believe that the Bishop intended to 
leave this statement, fraught as it is with the conse- 
quence of disinheriting all God's children who are not 
wholly sanctified before death, unexplained ; yet we 
feel it to be important to call attention to the 
questions we have in regard thereto, as we have 
frequently heard ministers take the same position. 
To such a posititon, we have ever felt it to be 
our duty to enter a protest in the name of God. 
There are thousands, perhaps a majority, of just as 
sincere and earnest Christians as live who do not 
believe a state of entire sanctification is attainable in 
this life, and consequently cannot attain it, and yet, 
taking Christ by faith as their Saviour, we cannot 
believe they will be shut out of heaven because of this 
defect (as it may be) in their faith. 

The Bishop gives some excellent instruction to 
seekers of this state which we commend to the special 
attention of the reader. 

Page 124. " Consecration is not sanctification, it is 
a part of it. Consecration is your work, God giving 
the requisite grace;" (pray for the requisite grace,) 
" when it is entire, sanctification, which is the work 
of the Holy Spirit, follows, always follows, immedi- 
ately follows. But more particularly what is con- 
secration? It is entire dedication to God; in 
other words, complete acquiescence in His will 



196 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and reference to His glory. It does not imply that 
we retire from the world ; that we give ourselves all 
the time to religious exercises; that we withhold com- 
muniou with our fellow men; that we give our entire 
thoughts, affections and efforts to technically religious 
duties ; such a thing would be impracticable in this 
world, would conflict with the expressed will of God, 
and be itself therefore sinful. We have business to do 
to provide for our households^ and to enable us to do 
good ; our thoughts may be given to this ; we have 
families and friends, we may love them, — nay, these 
are a part of our duty. By consecration to God, 
therefore, we mean simply, as expressed above, a 
supreme reference to the will and glory of God in all 
things ; using and enjoying all as He wills we should, 
disclaiming any rights that conflict with His rights ; 
pursuing such business and in such measure as from 
our best light we believe is the will of God; using all 
the proceeds of our labour precisely as we believe God 
directs; loving these objects, and in that degree 
which He approves; doing these acts which will be for 
His glory; living in the world, but living for God. 
Whoever does this consecrates himself to God. He 
may be in the midst of men, and earnest and industri- 
ous ; but if he is earnest and entire in these respects, 
he is only the Lord's. His sanctified life so far as it 
emanates from him, will be no more than this conse- 
cration perpetuated through every minute and every 
day; so far as it proceeds from God, it will be a per- 
petual indwelling of God. Of such an one it may be 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST, 197 

said, he lives not, but God liveth in him. His sole 
reference as to all things is the will of God ; and with 
this he never allows his thoughts, affections, will or 
actions to conflict. Who will say this is not an entire 
consecration? Who will say it is not duty? Who will 
say that it is not by the grace of God possible? In this 
consecration there is in our estimation unfortunate 
and injurious advice sometimes given, in some such 
language as the following: " Bring your all and lay it 
on God's altar; believe it is accepted, and though you 
may have no direct witness, no special sensible change, 
do not doubt but it is done; the altar sanctifies the 
gift; whatsoever toucheth the altar is holy," and 
much more of this kind. 

Page 132, " It has been indiscreetly said, ' We are 
to believe the work is done and it will be done.' Per- 
sons seeking the blessing are told they must believe 
they are sanctified and they will be sanctified. What 
a misfortune that so great, so dangerous an error should 
be taught in connection with so important a subject! 
What a manifest absurdity! Making our sanctifica- 
tion depend upon our belief of an untruth ; namely, a 
belief that it is now wrought in order that it may be 
wrought! This is a great delusion. It is not the 
doctrine of the Bible. It is not and never was the 
doctrine of our church. Some honest and sincere 
Christians have fallen into this delusion without per- 
ceiving its absurdity, and it has gained considerable 
currency. I trust it will no more find place in the 
language of the friends of this glorious doctrine." 



198 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

I rejoice that from so high a source this error has 
been check-mated. In attending meetings for the 
promotion of scriptural holiness I have found many 
so confused by such instructions, backed up by an 
additional urging to get up and profess to have at- 
tained entire sanctification because they believe God's 
promises, that they knew not what to do. 

The instructor persistently urges, " Has not God 
promised to sanctify you?" "Yes." "Well, don't 
you believe his promise?" "Yes." "Well, then he 
has done it. Get up and testify." Many in their con- 
fusion have appealed to me, and I have told them if 
God accepts your sacrifice or consecration and ap- 
proves your faith He will and does, by the agency of 
His Spirit, witness or make an unmistakable impres- 
sion upon your spirit that the work is done. Until 
you have such witness, continue to pray earnestly that 
God will, for Christ's sake, sanctify you wholly and 
give you the witness. Then, if the Spirit moves you, 
(as it probably will) either to confess, profess or testify 
to what He has done, do it in the name of God, do it at 
your peril if you do not. Soon light would come. 

Our Bishop, having given such timely warning 
against this dangerous error, very clearly points out 
the way of faith to this great attainment. 

"The stages of faith, immediately at the point of 
sanctification, just before and right after it may thus be 
described. And now let it be remembered that when this 
exercise of faith takes place, it is not a mere intellectual 
calculation, it occurs when the soul is travailing for 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 199 

sanctifying power, when it is groaning for deliverance 
from distressing sinfulness, when it is giving up all to 
Chiist, when it is feeling; that 'It is worse than death 
its God to love and not its God alone,' when it is pro- 
posing to claim and obtain holiness at all hazards. That 
is the state of the soul; it is now agonizing at God's altar, 
it is pleading for salvation, looking at the promises ; the 
Holy Spirit is helping, imparting illumination, and 
strengthening the faltering faith. Now comes the 
moment when sanctification is about to be imparted. 
Now the soul believes it will be done just now, taking 
firmer hold of the promises, and looking steadfastly 
at the atoning sacrifice, now the Intercessor, it be- 
lieves it is being done, the refining fire touches it, "as 
the coal Isaiah's lips, it yields, it trusts, the work is 
done, and now the soul, sanctified, believes it is done. 
The belief that it will be done, that it is doing/ are 
the trust which brings the blessing, the belief that 
it is done follows after. They are each distinct, 
though all may occur in the interval of a minute." 

We think this is such a lucid description of the 
general way God, by His Spirit, leads the seeker of this 
great salvation up to the taking hold of the blessing 
sought, that it may be profitable for all who have 
sought and obtained to become familiar with it, that 
they may better instruct those still seeking; while, it 
will certainly be profitable to those still seeking > 
directing them to its attainment. 



200 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTER IX, 

FARTHER EXAMINATION OF CHRISTIAN AUTHORS AS 
TO CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

We now go back to Wesley. On page 61 of Wesley's 
"Plain Account of the Doctrine of Christian Perfec- 
tion" are these words: 

"I have been the more large in these extracts (refer- 
ing to extracts made from tracts written by him), 
because hence it appears, beyond all possibility of 
exception, that to this day both ray brother and I 
maintained: (1) That Christian perfection is that 
love of God and our neighbor which implies deliver- 
ance from all sin. (2) That this is received merely 
by faith. (3) That it is given instantaneously in one 
moment. (4) That we are to expect it, not at death, 
but every moment; that now is the accepted time, now 
is the day of salvation." 

Page 78. Question: "When may a person judge 
himself to have attained this?" 

Answer: "When after having been fully convinced 
of inbred sin, by a far deeper and clearer conviction 
than that he experienced before justification and after 
having experienced a gradual mortification of it, he 
experiences a total death to sin, and an entire renewal 
in the love and image of God, so as to rejoice ever- 
more, to pray without ceasing, and in everything to 
give thanks. Not that to feel all love and no sin is a 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 201 

sufficient proof. Several have experienced this for 
a time, before their souls were fully renewed. 
None therefore ought to believe that the work is done, 
till there is added the testimony of the Spirit witness- 
ing his entire sanctification as clearly as his justifica- 
tion/' 

Page 81. Question. " Is this death to sin and re- 
rewal in love gradual or instantaneous ?" 

Answer. "A man may be dying for some time, yet he 
does not, properly speaking, die till the instant the 
soul is separated from the body, and in that instant he 
lives the life of eternity. In like manner he may be 
dying to sin for some time, yet he is not dead to sin 
till sin is separated from his soul, and in that moment 
he lives the full life of love. And as the change under- 
gone when the body dies is of a different kind, and in- 
finitely greater than any we had known before, yea, such 
as till then it is impossible to conceive, so the change 
wrought when the soul dies to sin is of a different kind 
and infinitely greater than any before, and than any 
can conceive until he experiences it. Yet he still 
grows in grace in the love and image of God, and will 
do so not only till death but to all eternity." 

Question. " How are we to wait for this change ?" 

Answer. "Not in careless indifference or indolent 
inactivity, but in vigorous universal obedience, in a 
zealous keeping of all the commandments, in watchful- 
ness and painfulness, in denying ourselves and taking 
up our cross daily, as well as in earnest prayer and 
fasting and a close attendance on all the ordinances of 



202 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

God. And if any other way (yea, of keeping it when 
it is attained, when he has received in the largest 
measure) he deceives his own soul. It is true he re- 
ceives it by simple faith, but God does not, will not, 
give that faith unless we seek it with all diligence in 
the way which he has ordained. This consideration 
may satisfy those who inquire why so few receive the 
blessing. Inquire how many are seeking it in this way 
and you have a sufficient answer. Prayer is especially 
wanting. Who continues instant therein ? Who 
wrestles with God for this very thing? So ye have not 
because ye ask not, or because ye ask amiss, namely, 
that you may be renewed before you die. Before you 
die ! Will that content you ? Nay, but ask that it may 
be done now, today, while it is called today. Do not 
call this ' setting God a time/ Certainly today is God's 
time as well as tomorrow. Make haste man, make 
haste ! Let 

" 'The soul break out in strong desire 

Thy perfect bliss to prove ; 

Thy longing heart be all on fire 

To be dissolved in love !' " 

Tlie Witness of the Spirit. 

Question 10. " But does not sanctification shine by 
its own light ?" 

Answer. "And does not the new birth, too? Some- 
times it does, and so does sanctification ; at others it 
does not. Satan clouds the work of God, and in- 
jects various doubts and reasonings, especially in those 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 205 

who have either very weak or very strong understand- 
ings. At such times there is absolute need of that 
witness without which the work of sanctification not 
only could not be discerned but could not longer sub- 
sist. Were it not for this the soul could not abide in 
the love of God, much less could it rejoice evermore 
and in everything give thanks. In these circum- 
stances, therefore, a direct testimony that we are sanc- 
tified is necessary in the highest degree. ' But I have 
no witness that I am saved from sin, and yet I have no 
doubt of it.' Very well, as long as you have no doubt 
it is enough; when you have you will need that wit- 
ness." 

Question 19. " But what scripture makes mention of 
any such thing, or gives any reason to expect it ?" 

Answer. " That scripture ' We have received not the 
Spirit that is of the world, but the Spirit which is of 
God, that we may know the things which are freely 
given us of God.' I Corinthians ii, 12. 'Now surely 
sanctification is one of the things which are freely given 
us of God/ And no possible reason can be assigned 
why this should be excepted when the apostle says, 
'we received the Spirit for this very end, that we may 
know the things which are thus freely given us.' Is 
not the same thing implied in that well known scrip- 
ture, 'The spirit witnesseth with our spirit that we are 
the children of God.' Romans viii, 16. Does he wit- 
ness this only to those who are the children of God in 
the lowest sense? Nay, but to those also who are such 
in the highest sense. And does he not witness that 



204 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

they are such in the highest sense? What reason have 
we to doubt it ? 

" What if a man was to affirm (as indeed many do) 
that this witness belongs only to the highest class of 
Christians ? Would you not answer, ' The apostle 
makes no restriction, therefore doubtless it belongs to 
all the children of God.' And will not the same answer 
hold if any affirm that it belongs only to the lowest 
class ? 

" Consider likewise I John v, 19: ' We know that 
we are of God.' How? 'By the Spirit that He 
hath given us.' And what ground have we, either 
from scripture or reason, to exclude the witness any 
more than the fruit of the Spirit from being here in- 
tended ? By this then also i we know that we are of 
God,' and in what sense we are so, whether we are 
babes, young men or fathers we know in the same 
manner. 

" Not that I affirm that all young men or even 
fathers have this testimony every moment; there may 
be intermissions of the direct testimony that they are 
born of God, but these intermissions are fewer and 
shorter as they grow up in Christ, and some have the 
testimony both of their justification and sanctification 
without any intermission at all, which I presume more 
might have did they walk humbly and closely with 
God." 

I find that all the foregoing agrees substantially 
with the conclusions which I have drawn from the 
teachings of the word before I examined any authors 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 205 

on these subjects, and it also agrees with my own ex- 
perience and that of others so far as I have heard them 
testify except in the case of some who teach that the 
witness of the Spirit is not essential to make the mat- 
ter of our entire sanctification certain, provided we be- 
lieve in Christ for that blessing. With this last propo- 
sition I agree, provided always we know that our faith 
in Christ is of such a character as to be approved of 
God. But to make that certain we just as much need 
the witness of the Spirit as that we are wholly sancti- 
fied, for faith is a gift of God, and by the Spirit only 
" we may know the things which are freely given us of 
God." I Corinthians ii, 12. 

Testifying of its Attainment. 

Page 69. Question. " Suppose one had attained to 
this, would you advise him to speak of it? 91 

Answer. "At first perhaps he would scarce be able 
to refrain, the fire would be so hot within him, his 
desire to declare the loving kindness of the Lord 
carrying him away like a torrent. But afterward he 
might, and then it would be advisable not to speak 
of it to them that know not God (it is most likely to 
contradict and blaspheme) nor to others without 
some good in view. And then he should have especial 
care to avoid all appearance of boasting; to speak 
with the deepest humility and reverence, giving all 
the glory to God." I found the copy of Wesley's 
Plain Account, from which I took this extract (each 
line) heavily underscored- with a red pencil, and in 



206 SALVATION TO|THE UTTERMOST. 

the margin (written with black pencil): "Professing; 
see page 151." There we found the following, simi- 
larly underscored : 

"Be particularly careful in speaking of yourself; 
you need not indeed deny the work of God, but speak 
of it, when you are called thereto, in the most inof- 
fensive manner possible. Avoid all magnificent, 
pompous words ; indeed, you need give it no general 
name, neither perfection, the second blessing, nor the 
having attained. Kather speak of the particulars 
which God has wrought for you. You may say ; 'At 
such a time I felt a great change which I am not able 
to express ; since that time I have not felt pride or 
self-will, or anger, or unbelief, nor anything but a 
fullness of love to God and to all mankind.' And 
answer any other plain question that is asked with 
modesty and simplicity." 

Now in all this we see no objection, nor anything 
which calls for underscoring with red. This is advice 
given doubtless, as far as possible, to avoid unnecessary 
reproach by opposers. But, to show that Mr. Wesley 
did *iot design to excuse those who have experienced 
the work of Christian perfection, holiness, entire 
sanctification or perfect love, all of which he clearly 
defines as embracing the same state, from, on all suit- 
able occasions, making definite profession or confes- 
sion is manifest from the following: 

Page 69 and 70. " But would it not be better to be 
entirely silent — not to speak at all? " 

This is a question very^many, both ministers and 



SALVATION TO T^E UTTEKMOST. 207 

members, of even the Methodist churches of the 
present day ask and" answer : " It would." How does 
Wesley answer? He says: "By silence he might 
avoid many crosses, which will naturally and neces- 
sarily ensue if he simply declare, even among believ- 
ers, what God has wrought in his soul. If, therefore, 
such a one were to confer with flesh and blood, he 
would be entirely silent. But this could not be done 
with a clear conscience ; for undoubtedly he ought to 
speak. Men do not light a candle and put it under a 
bushel; much less does the all wise God. He does not 
raise such a monument of his power and love to hide 
it from all mankind. Eather he intends it as a- 
general blessing to those who are simple of heart. 
He designs thereby, not barely the happiness of that 
individual person, but the animating and encouraging 
others to follow after the same blessing. His will is 
that ' many shall see it ' and rejoice, ' and put their 
trust in the Lord.' Nor does anything under heaven 
more quicken the desires of those who are justified, 
than to converse with those whom they believe to have 
experienced still a higher salvation. This places that 
salvation full in their view, and an advantage which 
must have been entirely lost had the person so saved 
buried himself in silence." 

This last extract was not underscored with red. 
The reason may be surmised. On second thought we 
have a slight objection to Mr. Wesley's use of the 
following words on page 151: 

" Indeed you need give it no general name, neither 



208 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

perfection, sanctification, the second blessing, nor 
the having attained." 

Though he does suggest a very fair substitute, for 
perfection and sanctification, we much prefer the 
terms indited by the Holy G-host and used in the in- 
spired volume to express either the doctrine or expe- 
rience of Christian perfection than that suggested as a 
substitute even by a man we reverence highly as we do 
Mr. Wesley the founder of the great Methodist 
church. It is evident that Mr. Wesley himself did not 
attach much importance to this mere suggestion of 
his, but that he discarded it afterwards both in his 
sermons and writings. The language of these extracts 
was used in 1760: 

The suggestion contained on page 151, as we 
learn at the bottom of 150, was in order to "Give no 
offence which can possibly be avoided." But the 
offence is to the opposers of the doctrine and to the 
experience of Christian perfection. Whoever heard of 
any one who really loved "Christian perfection, entire 
sanctification, or holiness," being offended at the use 
of the terms indited by the Holy Ghost. If we use 
any other terms, either in preaching, testimony or 
writing about it, if they convey to the mind, and 
especially to the hearty a definite idea of the thing, 
they will give the same offence as do the use of the 
terms indited by the Holy Spirit. So we prefer their 
use, and it is evident that (on mature consideration) Mr. 
Wesley also did, as he continued to use them and to 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 209 

recommend their use to others, as will appear from the 
following : 

To Joseph Benson he writes in 1792: ft I doubt we 
% are not explicit enough in speaking of full salvation 
either in public or private. " (Works volume 2, page 
81). At the funeral of Joseph Norbury, in 1763, he 
said: lf For about three years he has humbly and 
boldly testified that God had saved him from all sin." 
(Works volume 4, page 165.) 

This was written about three years after the advice 
or (as it seems to us) a mere permission in order to 
avoid the reproach of opposers, to substitute some- 
thing indirect and indefinite instead of direct in testi- 
fying to full salvation. If (as some would have us 
believe) he intended this as a, precept, to be universally 
or even generally observed, it is evident he must 
have altered his mind by the time he pronounced this 
eulogy upon Mr. Norbury. 

He wrote to a Miss Briggs: "Undoubtedly it would 
be a cross to declare what God has done for your soul. 
Nay, and Satan would accuse you on that account, 
telling you 'you did it out of pride/ Yea, and some 
of your sisters (and brothers) would blame you and 
perhaps put the same construction upon it, as many 
are doing. Nevertheless, if you do it with a single 
eye, it will be pleasing to God." 

To John King (one of his preachers) he writes, in 

1787: " It requires a great degree of watchfulness to 

retain the perfect love of God, and one great means of 

retaining it is frankly to declare what God has 

27 



210 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

given you, and earnestly to exhort all believers you meet 
with to follow after full salvation." (Vol. 7, page 13.) 

In 1766 he urges Mrs. Crosby to "Encourage Rich- 
ard Blackwell and Mr. Oolley to speak plainly, and to 
press believers to the constant pursuit and earnest 
expectation of Christian perfection." 

In reading this we have wondered how many of the 
successors of Wesley of the present day, leading 
ministers of the great Methodist body, would write to a 
tuoman (a Mrs. Crosby for instance) "to encourage min- 
isters of the gospel to speak plainly" on Christian per- 
fection and to "press believers to the constant pursuit 
and earnest expectation' 9 of it? We have also wondered 
if any woman should "urge" a modern Blackwell or 
Colley to do such a thing, if she would not be told to 
"mind her own business.' ' 

Wesley, writing to his brother Charles, says: "I find 
almost all our preachers in every circuit have done 
with Christian perfection. They say they believe it but 
they never preach it, or not once in a quarter. What 
shall be done? Shall we let it drop or make point of 
it?" Of one society he says: "I examined the 
society, and was surprised to find fifty members fewer 
than I left in it in October last. One reason is, Chris- 
tian perfection has been little insisted on ; and where 
this is not done, be the preachers never so eloquent, 
there is little increase either in the number or grace of 
the hearers." Of another place he says: "Here I 
found the work of God had gained no ground in this 
circuit all the year. The preachers have given up the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 211 

Methodist testimony. Either they did not speak of 
perfection at* all (the peculiar doctrine committed to 
our trust), or they speak of it in general terms, with- 
out urging believers to go on to perfection. And where 
this is not earnestly done, the work of God does not 
prosper/ ' 

Again he says: "Wm. Hunt and John Watson 
were not men of large gifts, but zealous for Christian 
perfection ; and by their warm conversation on this 
head had kindled a flame in some of the leaders. 
These pressed others to seek it and for this end 
appointed meetings 'for prayer. The fire spread wider 
and wider, until the whole society was in a flame." 

In closing up his plain account he uses such lan- 
guage as cannot be misunderstood, to which I would 
especially commend the prayerful attention of every 
member of the Methodist church, lay and ministerial. 
We would make every word emphatic and then ask: 
"Brethren, can you longer oppose the doctrine, the 
experience, the confession, the profession or the 
preaching of Christian perfection, entire sanctification 
or perfect love?" 

Let us look at his language and read it over and 
over, and then ask: "Are we Methodists, are we Bible 
Christians?" He says: "Therefore, all our preachers 
should make a point of preaching perfection to be- 
lievers constantly, strongly and explicitly; and all 
believers should mind this one thing, and continually 
agonize for it. * * * * I tell you as plain as I 
can speak, where and when I found this. I found it 



212 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

in the oracles of God, in the Old and New Testaments 
when I read them with no other desire but to save my 
soul." * * * * "We look for no favor from the 
open servants of sin, or from those who have only the 
form of religion. But how long will you who wor- 
ship God in spirit, who are 'circumcised with the cir- 
cumcision not made with hands/ set your battle in 
array against those who seek an entire circumcision of 
heart, who thirst to be cleansed 'from all filthiness of 
the flesh and spirit* and to 'perfect holiness in the 
fear of God?' Are we your enemies because we look 
for a full deliverance from that 'carnal mind which is 
enmity against God?' Nay, we are your brethren, 
your fellow laborers in the vineyard of our Lord, your 
companions in the kingdom and patience of Jesus. 
Although this we confess, if we are fools therein, yet 
as fools bear with us, we do expect to love God with 
all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Yea, we 
do believe that He will in this world so 'cleanse the 
thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of His Holy 
Spirit that we shall perfectly love Him and worthily 
magnify His holy name/ " 

After these lengthy extracts we would affectionately, 
as one standing on the border-land, ask our readers to 
read them once and again, and again, and then 
answer to themselves the following: 

"Do all our preachers make a point of preaching 
perfection to believers constantly, strongly and 
explicitly," and do "all believers mind this one thing 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 213 

and constantly agonize for it?" If not, why? If 
not, are they practically Methodists? 

By these extracts we have seen: First. That Mr. 
Wesley considers that Christian perfection, entire 
sanctification, holiness, purity and perfect love, refer 
to substantially the same state of grace. * 

Second. That it is usually, if not always, distinct 
from and subsequent to justification and regeneration. 

Third. That it may be attained instantaneously by 
faith in Christ, though some, because of not claim- 
ing it immediately by faith, may not recognize it as an 
instantaneous work. 

Fourth. That all who receive it thus may have and 
ought to seek just as clear a witness of the fact as of 
their justification and regeneration by the agency of 
the Holy Spirit. 

lifth. That having this witness of the Spirit to this 
attainment they should bear frequent testimony of 
the fact to all Christians, definitely and clearly, in 
order to influence them to earnestly seek the same. 

Sixth. In failing so to do they are liable to lose that 
great blessing. 

Seventh. That it is the imperative duty of all 
Methodist ministers especially to seek until they 
obtain this state, and then to "constantly, strongly 
and explicitly " preach it, even though they should be 
" Hooted at like mad dogs; even by men that fear 
God ; nay, and by some of their own children, some 
whom they, under God, had begotten through the 
gospel." 



214 SALYATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Eighth. That unless this is done they cannot expect 
great fruits from their labors. 

John Fletcher, rector of Madly, in the Church of 
England, was so truly a Methodist in every particular 
that Mr. Wesley intended to have made him his suc- 
cessor as superintendent of all his societies. He says 
of Christian perfection : 

"In other words Christian perfection is a spiritual 
constellation made up of these gracious stars — perfect 
repentance, perfect faith, perfect humility, perfect 
meekness, perfect self-denial, perfect resignation, 
perfect hope, perfect charity for our visible enemies 
as well as for our earthly relations, and, above all, 
perfect love for our invisible God through the explicit 
knowledge^ our mediator, Jesus Christ. *And as this 
last star is always accompanied by all the others, as 
Jupiter is by all his satellites, we frequently use, as St. 
John, the phrase " perfect love " instead of the word 
"perfection; " understanding by it the pure love of 
God shed abroad in the hearts of established believers 
by the Holy Ghost, which is abundantly given them 
under the fullness of the Christian dispensation." 

It will be remembered that in our observations on 
the appropriate terms to express the highest state of 
Christian grace, we took substantially the same 
position in regard to perfect love taken by Mr. 
Fletcher in this extract. 

It has been said that neither Wesley, Fletcher, 
Clark, Watson, nor any of the great leaders in the 
Methodist churches were accustomed to directly testify 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 215 

to the experience of this highest state of Christian 
experience. In our next chapter we will see how far 
this is true. 



216 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTER X. 

TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIANS AS TO THE EXPERIENCE OF 

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, ENTIRE SANCTIFI- 

CATION OR HOLINESS. 

This testimony is necessary as no doctrine or theory, 
from whatever source it comes, can long obtain or re- 
tain the confidence of thinking men, unless the test of 
experience proves it true. Hence we find that God 
all through his word challenges his creatures to try 
to prove the things of God. And having proved these 
things by experience God makes all experimenters 
witnesses of these things. If Jesus complained of 
the many who were healed of a bodily leprosy, because 
only one returned to testify and give glory to God for 
the wonderful healing, how much more of the soul 
which is healed and made perfectly whole of the fearful 
malady of sin. 

And we think the plainest and most direct language 
the witnesses can use is the best. We have doubts 
whether such devices as will deceive many, even 
opposers as to what is meant, in order to evade their 
criticisms and opposition will be pleasing to the per- 
former of the work, who is to be the final judge in the 
case in which the testimony is rendered. We think 
testimony of the following witnesses is direct and clear, 
and abundantly sustains the point at issue. It is true 
there is a great variety in the language used, but 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 217 

the testimony is all clearly to the perfect restoration 
of humanity to the image or likeness of God, consist- 
ing in "righteousness and true holiness." Notice their 
testimony: 

Saint Ignatius says : " I thank thee, Lord, that 
thou hast vouchsafed to honor me with a perfect love 
toward thee." 

Saint Barnabas says: "Let us become spiritual, a 
perfect temple to God. Ye are therefore with all your 
companions in the same journey full of God, His 
spiritual temple, full of Christ, full of holiness." 

It may be said this does not give Ignatius' testimony 
of his own experience. We answer no, unless he in- 
cludes himself in the "companions" who were traveling 
in the same journey. This is much the way opponents 
of testifying to holiness seek to get rid of St. Paul's 
testimony when he says: " Let us as many as be per- 
perfect," etc. 

Saint Clement says: " They who have been made 
perfect in love have, by the grace of God, obtained a 
place among the righteous." 

Giving these as samples of the sayings and testimony 
of the Christian fathers of the age immediately suc- 
ceeding that of the apostles, we now give that of the 
great reformation under Wesley and his co-laborers. 
It is generally conceded by Protestants that soon after 
the apostolic age the doctrines of Christianity became 
seriously corrupted, and that religious experience 
especially sank to a very low standard. Notwith- 
standing there were not wanting a few devoted souls, 



218 SALTATION TO THE UTTEEMOST. 

who seem amid the general darkness, "walked in the 
light, as He (God) is in the light/' and proved that 
" The blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanseth us from 
all sin." While this is true, neither the doctrine or the 
experience of Christian perfection attained their 
wonted prominence until God raised up the people 
called Methodists, whose mission it was " to spread 
scriptural holiness over the lands." Let us examine 
their testimony growing out of experience. 

John Fletcher says : " I tell you all , to the praise of 
God's love^ I am free from sin." 

Mr. Wesley^ who knew him well, says with reference 
to Fletcher: "Within four score years I have known 
many excellent men — men holy in heart and life; but 
one equal to him — one so uniformly and deeply devoted 
to God, I have not known. A man so unblamable in 
every respect I have not found in Europe or America. 
Nor do I expect to find another such on this side 
heaven." One such witness, bearing testimony both 
by profession and by the example of a holy life, is suf- 
ficient to settle forever, the possibility of attaining 
and retaining holiness by faith in Christ. 

Mr. Bennvell, after describing in glowing language 
his freedom from sin, declares: "I have now walked 
in this liberty six years." 

Canosso testifies: u I was emptied of self and sin and 
filled with God." Speaking of Eobert Spencer he 
says: "I know not when I have met with a man's 
experience to come so near to mine as his does." A 
conversation with Mrs. Mather was made an unspeak- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 219 

able blessing to his soul. It was by her he learned to 
claim the promise of full salvation, and expect the 
evidence in believing. Fearful of being mistaken he 
very artlessly in quired : "Is this Methodism?" It is 
old Methodism— proved Methodism. " Yes," says Mr. 
Canosso, "and I bless God that I have the pleasure of 
putting my hand to the truth of this ; I can say it is 
old and proved Methodism, for on the 13th day of 
March, 1825, it will be fifty-three years since I 
obtained the evidence in believing that the blood of 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, c cleanseth from all sin/ " 
Mr. Wesley notices with approval ' the following 
testimonies of experience, (works Vol. 3, pages 624, 
625): "After preaching I talked with M. B., who 
has been long a mother in Israel. ' I was under 
strong convictions,' said she, ' when twelve or thirteen 
years old, and soon after found peace with God, but 
lost it by degrees, and then contented myself with liv- 
ing a quiet, ha rmless life till Mr. Charles Wesley 
came to Wednesbury, in the year 1742. Soon after 
this my convictions returned, though n ot with terror 
as before, but with strong hope ; and, in a little time 
I recovered peace and joy in believing. * * * Not 
long after Mr. Jones talked particularly with me 
about the wickedness of my heart. I went home in 
great trouble, which did not cease till one day, sitting 
in my house, I heard a voice say in my inmost soul, 
" Be ye holy, for I am holy/' From that time for a 
year and a quarter (though I never lost my peace) I 
did nothing but long, and weep and pray for inward 



220 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

holiness. I was then sitting one day, August 23, 1744, 
about eight in the morning, musing and praying as 
usual, when I seemed to hear a loud voice, saying at 
once to my heart and to my outward ears, " This day 
shall salvation come to this house." I ran up stairs, 
and presently the power of God came upon me so that 
I shook all over like a leaf. Then a voice said: 
"This day is salvation come to this house." At the 
instant I felt an entire change. I was full of love and 
full of God. I had the witness in myself that He 
had made an end of sin and taken my whole heart for- 
ever. And from that moment I have never lost the 
witness nor felt anything in my heart but pure love/ " 
John Manners writes: "The work of God increases 
every day. There is scarcely a day but some are justi- 
fied, sanctified, or both. On Thursday three came and 
told me that the blood of Jesus Christ had cleansed 
them from all sin. One of them told me she had been 
justified seven years, and for five years had been con- 
vinced of the necessity of sanctification. But this easy 
conviction availed not. A fortnight since she was 
seized with so keen a conviction as gave her no rest till 
God had sanctified her and witnessed it to her heart." 
Three days after (May 11) he writes thus: "God still 
continues His marvelous loving-kindness to us. On 
Sunday last Mrs. King entered into rest. She had been 
seeking it for some time, but her convictions and de- 
sires grew stronger and stronger as the hour approached. 
A while ago she told me she grew worse and worse, and 
her inward conflicts were greater than ever ; but on the 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 221 

Lord's day she felt an entire change, while these words 
were spoken to her heart : 'Thou art all fair, my love ; 
there is no spot in thee.' She now walks in sweet 
peace, and rejoices evermore. Her father received the 
blessing a few days before her, and is exceedingly 
happy. The fire catches all that come near. An old 
soldier, on his return from Germany to the north of 
Ireland, fell in one night with these wrestling Jacobs, 
to his great astonishment. He was justified seventeen 
years ago, but afterward fell from it for five years. As 
he was going to Germany in the beginning of the war 
the Lord healed him in Dublin, and in spite of all the 
distresses of the campaign he walked in the light con- 
tinually. On his return through London he was con- 
vinced of the necessity of sanctification, and soon after 
he came hither his heart was broken to pieces while he 
was with a little company who met daily for prayer. 
One evening as they were going away he stopped them 
and begged they would not go till the Lord had blessed 
him. They kneeled down again and did not cease 
wrestling with God till he had a witness that he was 
saved from all sin. 

"The case of Mr. Timmins is no less remarkable. He 
had been a notorious sinner. He was deeply wounded 
two months since. Ten days ago, on a Friday, God 
spake peace to his soul. The Sunday following, after 
a violent struggle, he sank down as dead. He was 
cold as clay. After about ten minutes he came to him- 
self and cried, 'A new heart, a new heart !' He said 



222 SALVATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

he felt himself in an instant entirely emptied of sin 
and filled with G-od. 

"Bro. Barry likewise had been justified but a few days 
before God gave him purity of heart. So deep and 
general was the impression now made upon the people 
that even at five in the morning I was obliged to preach 
abroad by the numbers who flocked to hear, although 
the northerly wind made the air exceedingly sharp. A 
little after preaching one came to me who believed the 
Lord had set her soul at full liberty. She had been 
clearly justified long before, and said the change she 
now experienced was extremely different from that she 
experienced then — as different as the noon-day light 
from that of daybreak; that she now felt her soul all 
love and quite swallowed up of God. Now suppose ten 
weeks or ten months hence this person should be cold 
or dead, shall I say ' She deceived herself; this was 
merely the work of her own imagination Y Not at all. I 
have no right so to judge, nor authority so to speak. 
I will rather say € She was unfaithful to the grace 
of God, and so cast away what was really given.' 
Therefore that way of talking, which has been very 
common, of staying € to see if the gift be really given/ 
which some take to be exceeding wise, I take to be ex- 
ceeding foolish. If a man says, 'I now feel nothing 
but love/ and I know him to be an honest man, I be- 
lieve him. What then should I stay to see ? Not 
whether he has such a blessing, but whether he will 
keep it." 

On this work Mr. Wesley offers the following reflec- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 223 

tions, November 15, 1763: "Here I stood and looked 
back on the late occurrences." (Works Vol. 4, page 
165.) "Before Thomas Walsh left England, God 
began that great work which has continued ever since 
without any considerable intermission. During the 
whole time many have been convicted of sin, many 
justified, and many backsliders healed. But the 
peculiar work of this season has been what St. Paul 
calls 'the perfecting of the saints.' Many persons 
in London, in Bristol, in York, and in various parts 
both of England and Ireland, have experienced so 
deep and universal a change as it had not before 
entered into their hearts to conceive. After a deep 
conviction of inbred sin, of their total fall from God, 
they have been so filled with faith and love (and 
generally in a moment) that sin vanished, and they 
found from that time, no pride, anger, desire or 
unbelief. They could rejoice evermore, pray without 
ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Now, 
whether we call this the destruction or suspension of 
sin, it is a glorious work of God ; such a work, as con- 
sidering both the depth and extent of it, we never saw 
in these kingdoms bef ore.' ' 
We find by these extracts: 

1. That upon the minds and hearts of clearly and 
fully justified and regenerated Christians deep con- 
viction was produced by the instrumentality of the 
word, and the direct agency of the Spirit, of indwell- 
ing sin. 

2. That they sought earnestly until they obtained 



224 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

the clear assurance that they were " cleansed from 
all unrighteousness and filled with all 'the mind 
which was in Christ/ filled 'with glory and of God/ 
fitted 'with, the love of GoA,' fitted 'with all the full- 
ness of God/ " 

3. That from this state they sometimes fell, and 
were again restored by faith in a similar manner in 
which they first received it. 

4. That many were preserved in such a state, by 
faith in the keeping power of God, some of them unto 
death. 

5. It seems that Thomas Walsh and some others 
were appointed and approved evangelists of Mr. 
Wesley in the conversion of sinners, but more espe- 
cially in what he calls, ' ' The peculiar work, of what St. 
Paul calls, ' the perfecting of the saints/ " In reading 
all this, we have wondered if 'Christian churches of 
the present day could not improve by following the 
instructions and examples of Paul and Wesley. 

The Discipline. 

We think we cannot better close our examination of 
authors on the subject of sanctification than by call- 
ing attention to the mention made of it in our Book 
of Discipline in A. D. 1888, as follows, page 3 : 

"EPISCOPAL ADDRESS. 

" To the Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church : 

"Dearly Beloved Brethren: — 

" We think it expedient to give you a brief account of 
the rise of Methodism, both in Europe and America. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 225 

" In 1729 two young men in England, reading the 
Bible, saw they could not be saved without holiness, 
followed after it and incited others so to do. 

"In 1737 they saw, likewise, that men are justified 
before they are sanctified ; but still holiness was their 
object. God then thrust them out to raise a holy 
people. These are the words of John and Charles 
Wesley." 

Then on page 4, following: "We believe that God's 
design in raising up the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in America was to reform the continent and spread 
scriptural holiness over these lands." 

The address from which the foregoing extracts are 
taken is signed by each of our present Board of 
Bishops, the largest we ever had, showing that they 
all endorse the sentiments contained therein. 

Probably no letter representation of the sentiments 
of our church at the present time on this subject than 
this could have been given, unless it had by the action 
of the General Conference been engrafted into the body 
of the discipline in the form of an article of faith. 

I must confess that such action would please me 
exceedingly and I believe it would so please a large 
majority of the members of our church. 

If it be true that men cannot be saved without holi- 
ness, as one of these extracts declares, we find by read- 
ing the Bible, it ought certainly -to be embodied in our 
articles of faith. 

As it now stands it clearly proves that the declara- 
tion we often hear, in substance, that our church has 
29 



226 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

abandoned the doctrine or experience of holiness is 
incorrect. In this we greatly rejoice. Bat again we 
appeal to the ministry of our church. If it be true 
that men can not be saved without holiness, are you 
living up to your privilege, if you have not sought, 
believed and received it, and are you doing your whole 
duty if you are not earnestly laboring to incite others 
to seek it? 

Again permit me to suggest that I have found by 
my own experience and observation and from others 
that there is a great deal of surface work of late years, 
both in the conversion of sinners and in the sanctifica- 
tion of believers. I think this arises from two princi- 
pal causes : 

First. That Christians do not pray for, and expect, 
as it is their privilege and duty to do, that the Holy 
Spirit clearly and powerfully convicts sinners of their 
sins and of their sinfulness; that the same Spirit 
would clearly show the regenerate if the old man is 
dead in them ; if the carnal nature is destroyed and 
all is made new; if they are filled with love, which is 
the same as being filled with God, inasmuch as G-od is 
love. 

Second. Ministers and members do not, as they 
should, urge penitent seekers to seek earnestly until 
they obtain the clear witnes* of the Spirit in case 
of the unregenerate that they are born of God, and 
of the regenerate that they are wholly sanctified. On 
the contrary too many say you need not feel so bad; 
feeling has nothing to do with your salvation, only 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 227 

believe and quit your sins, or in the language of the 
inimitable Sam. Jones, " quit your meanness," while 
it is said in 77 Corinthians vii, 10 : " Godly sorrow 
worketh repentance to salvation that needeth not to 
be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh 
death." 

By this we learn that the sorrow produced by God, 
and which will be accepted of God, alone worketh 
repentance unto salvation, and I would be glad to 
know how such a sorrow can exist without a very 
deep feeling, if it is consistent. It is likely to be like 
that of the publican who smote upon his breast and 
said, " God be merciful to me, a sinner." David is an 
example of such repentance, as we learn from Psalm 
xxi, 10: "Have mercy upon me, Lord, for I am 
in trouble, mine eye is consumed with grief. * * * * 
My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and 
my bones are consumed." 

When Peter had denied his Master it is said, "he 
went out and wept bitterly," and we learn that he was 
fully restored and filled with the Holy Ghost. So will 
it always be with a weeping penitent and seeker of 
full salvation. The earnestness with which the seeker 
of justifying and sanctifying grace should seek both 
is set forth in Psalm li, all of which the reader will 
do well to read and study thoroughly in order to 
know how he should seek for justification. 



228 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER XI. 

FAITH THE CONDITION. 

Hebrews xi, 6: "But without faith it is impossible to 
please Him ; for he that cometh to G-od must believe 
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that 
diligently seek Him." 

This section of our subject treats of the condition of 
salvation to the uttermost. That condition is indi- 
cated in the text from which we have selected our sub- 
ject in the following words: "Them that come to 
God by Him." The text standing at the head of this 
chapter tells how any one can come to God by Him. 

Only by believing — 

First. That God is, or that He exists everywhere. 

Second. That he is a rewarder of them that dili- 
gently seek Him. 

In this the fact is indicated that sin separates man 
from his God. Every sin one commits is one step 
farther from God, not absolutely but relatively or 
morally. Though in an absolute sense God is not far 
from every one, yet sin blinds the eye, or moral per- 
ceptions, to the fact of the divine presence so that the 
transgressor sees less and less of Him until he some- 
times concludes there is no God. This blinding in- 
fluence of sin is the fruitful source of all grades of 
infidelity, from the first hesitating doubt, to down- 
r ight atheism. It is but reason that God should 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 229 

require of all who have, through unbelief, wickedly 
departed from Him, as a condition of return, that they 
should believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of 
them that diligently seek him. 

The first thing then to which we call attention in 
this chapter is to the evidence that there is a God. It 
may seem strange that we should undertake to prove 
what few if any, at this enlightened age of the world, 
deny. Indeed, if it was only for the benefit of those 
who say in their heart "there is no God," we would 
not write a word to prove there was, as the Bible 
declares such are fools, and we could not write for the 
benefit of such. But there are many who believe that 
there is a God, who do not realize that he is such a 
God as the scriptures, nature, history and the experi- 
ence of thousands who have followed the directions 
given in the Book of Job, "acquaint now thyself 
with Him," prove Him to be. 

Then, as the promotion of faith in God is the prime 
object for which we now write, we seek to impress 
upon the mind and heart the fact not only that God 
is, but that He is a rewarder of those who diligently 
seek Him. 

First, then, we call attention to the fact that God 
is, or that He exists, everywhere and always. 

God is and shall forever be, 

'Mid heaven or earth, on land or sea; 

If I would plunge 'neath earth afar, 

Or rising soar to distant star, 

His presence shall my way attend 

From every fear my soul defend. 



230 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

O, may I ever feel Him near, 

To free from care and pain and fear, 

To attend me through my life's dark way 

And bring me to the realms of day. 

There 'mid the thousands of the blest 

I shall forever live and rest. 

And in the presence of my King 

I shall forever reign and sing, 

To Him who brought me by His love 

To live and reign with Him above. 

The inspired writers do not seem to attempt to 
prove the existence of a G-od, but to assure it as a 
universally conceded fact. His existence may be 
proved however from many considerations. 

First. There is evidence that everything of a ma- 
terial nature now existing did not always exist, and 
therefore there must have been a time when all things 
began to be. It is impossible to suppose that the uni- 
verse should have created itself, for that would be pre- 
suming that something could do a very important act 
(that is to create) before it had an existence; that is 
that something was created by nothing; that is that it 
was not created at all, which is equivalent to non 
existence. But we are conscious that the things we 
behold do exist, therefore, as they did not always 
exist, they must have been brought into existence by 
some being exterior to themselves. That Being we 
call God. 

Second. Everything we behold evinces design. Every 
design must have had a designer, and the designer 
must have existed before the thing designed ; but as 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 231 

all things manifest design, therefore the Designer 
existed before all things. That Designer we call God. 

Third. In the design of all things there is manifest 
unity. This shows that the same being designed all 
things. That Being we call God. 

So we might go on to prove from right reason, not 
only the existence of God, but we could show from 
His works the attributes or nature of that God who has 
made all things. 

The first grand truth announced in the book of 
God, the Holy Bible, is, that, u In the beginning God 
created the heavens and the earth." We look out 
on our broad earth and behold its towering mountains, 
its rolling hills, its smiling valleys, extensive plains 
and rich prairies; and to the intelligent and thankful 
soul the thought comes home: These are all the 
handiwork of the Father of lights, in whom is no vari- 
ableness, neither shadow of turning. We go out upon 
the seashore and pick up its shining pebbles, its varied 
shells and pearls, and at low tide venture down and 
survey as far as we may, the wonders of the great 
deep, and can but be impressed with the wisdom, 
power and greatness of Him who gave the sea its 
bounds and said: "Hitherto shalt thou come, and 
here shall thy proud waves be stayed.' ' We launch 
out upon its rolling billows and feel as though even 
the divine majesty was stirring beneath us, and realize 
how small we are in comparison with Him who formed 
the mighty deep. Again we are brought safely to 
land, borne by the beautiful and majestic steamer 



232 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

which, being the device of human mind and the execu- 
tion of human handicraft, makes us almost feel that 
we at last are rulers of the seas ; but we are reminded 
that, not only the seas, but toe are the work of His 
hand who hath created all things, and that man only 
forms the things he does out of material furnished to 
his hand by the Author of all things ; and, that He 
bestows upon man whatever capacity he possesses, and 
our hearts should flow out in gratitude to Him, the 
bountiful giver of all good. 

Again, we wander over earth's proud crest, pluck- 
ing its beautiful flowers of almost unlimited variety, 
smelling the sweet odors which are wafted upon the 
breeze ; plunge into its majestic forests, listen to its 
rustling leaflets, its myriad feathered songsters, and, 
to the scarcely less sweet music of its gurgling streams, 
all echoed amid the forest domes, nature's own 
temples; and, with awe, we feel that these are also 
God's handiwork. Then, with microscope in hand, we 
behold the numerous living creatures in the drop of 
water we drink, the breath of air we breathe, and in 
almost everything above, around, beneath and even 
within us, and we are scarcely less impressed with the 
fact that these {too small for the natural eye to behold), 
are as much the work of and show as clearly His 
infinity, as His more majestic works. 

Now let us turn telescopic vision to the realms of 
ether and survey other planets of our own solar 
system and, by reason's eye, behold their wonders; 
each doubtless as great as those of the planet on which 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEBMOST. 233 

we live. Let us contemplate their course around their 
central suns, and ask by what mysterious power are 
they kept in their course. 

The devout astronomer (whom one has said is mad) 
would say by the power or law of gravitation 
(for want of a better name), but, perhaps, the not less 
devout theologian would say by the power or law of 
God. Call it gravitation — yet it is no less a law, G-od 
given. We behold the sun, the apparent ruler of this 
mighty system or kingdom, and reason as well as reve- 
lation teaches us that with all its wonders God made it. 

Then from this limited survey, we turn our tele- 
scopic view out upon the vast expanse of space and 
we behold myriads of stars which have been, if not 
with absolute demonstration yet to pretty general 
satisfaction, proven to be suns to other systems, per- 
haps more magnificent than that we call our own. 
Now as by the aid of the telescope we have added, to 
our field of vision almost countless numbers of worlds, 
reason lending its aid tells us of countless other 
worlds, and then reason, revelation, and faith, unite 
to declare that there must be a God who has made and 
upholds all these. And now we come back to earth, 
and take in one hand a powerful microscope, in the 
other a dissecting knife, and with that knife thor- 
oughly dissect and with the microscope carefully in- 
spect each part of a human body, and in this minia- 
ture world we behold, if possible, greater wonders than 
in all the worlds besides. But to get a full view of 
man (this miniature world) we must contemplate him 



234 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

not only in his physical but in his mental and spir- 
itual natures, and then we shall be deeply impressed 
with the fact that man is truly the crowning work of 
God's creation. Then shall we not be surprised that 
the sweet singer of Israel should have said: "lam 
fearfully and wonderfully made." 

Here then as the object of faith we have set before 
us the God who has created all things (ourselves in- 
cluded), and the God who upholds and sustains all 
things by the word of His power according to the 
Bible, and that this agrees with the teachings of high 
reasoning from His works, commonly called the works 
of nature. 

We have also seen that this God has given to man 
His law, and that by the transgression of that law he 
has sinned and thereby has become a sinner or sinful 
being, and that he now generates children in his own 
likeness that are sinners. 

We have also seen that God, at the time of the first 
transgression, made promise of a Saviour, and that to 
the race from time to time He, through his prophets, 
renewed that promise until the fullness of time, when 
He brought His only begotten Son into the world as 
its Saviour. And now as a condition of man's return 
to Him God requires that he should believe in Him, 
and in His Son whom He has sent. This belief, we 
are informed in His word, is not alone an assent of the 
mind that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that 
diligently seek Him, and an assent of the mind that 
Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world and 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 23& 

my Saviour, but: "With the heart man believeth 
unto righteousness." This implies, a heart-felt 
approval o/and trust in Him whom we mentally recog- 
nize as our God, and in Jesus Christ as our Saviour. 
This condition is eminently reasonable. Indeed, it is 
the only condition upon which even an infinite God could 
save any sinner, as upon no other condition could He 
"be just and justify him that believeth ," as is taught 
in the word. But there is an important thought sug- 
gested by the clause, " He is a rewarder of them that 
diligently seek Him." This diligently seeking God 
is the important thought upon which we would dwell 
for a time. From a long experience and much obser- 
vation in bringing sinners to God we are satisfied that 
a great proportion of failures to find God in the pardon 
of sin, the regeneration of the heart, in entire sancti- 
fication, in spiritual growth, and in constant com- 
munion is the failure to seek Him diligently. Seek- 
ing diligently implies seeking earnestly, constantly 
and perseveringly. Earnestness in seeking anything, 
person, or being, is equally commendatory of the one 
seeking and of that which is sought. Of all the 
things of God there is nothing so valuable as God 
Himself. If therefore, earnestness should be mani- 
fested by the seeker in proportion to the value of that 
which is sought, greater earnestness should be mani- 
fested in seeking God just in proportion as to find 
Him is a greater blessing to the seeker than the find- 
ing of any other treasure. This being so evidently 
true that all must admit it without proof or argu- 



236 SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

ment but upon its mere statement we may ask : Is it 
not reasonable that G-od should demand, as a condition 
of His revealing Himself as a sin-pardoning, soul- 
renewing, wholly sanctifying, ever-sustaining, com- 
forting and loving God, He be sought earnestly? 

It would seem to be insulting to such a being as 
God has proved Himself to be if any should seek Him 
with such indifference as too many do. It would not 
be surprising if to such He did not reveal Himself at 
all, and if it all, it is not surprising that He does not 
fully reveal Himself. But this seeking should not 
only be earnest but constant. In seeking anything of 
great value and greatly desired reason would say seek 
earnestly, not for a little while, then cease, and then 
seek again with greater earnestness than before, but 
constantly. This was beautifully and grandly illus- 
trated by Jacob wrestling with God until the break of 
day. If the reader will pardon a reference to per- 
sonal experience, the writer would say that in a tent on a 
camp ground in the northern part of the State of Indi- 
ana, on the night of July 6, 1839, six young men wrestled 
with God until midnight with the writer, that he might 
find Him as a sin-pardoning and soul renewing God, 
when they prevailed and God revealed himself glori- 
ously. We say God is to be sought perseveringly, as 
well as earnestly and constantly. By this we mean 
that as no one can receive all the theoretical or prac- 
tical or experimental knowledge of God which is 
attainable in this life all at once, so all should perse- 
vere in seeking more and more of God as He is 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 237 

revealed in nature, in His word, written and spoken, 
and as He is ready and willing to reveal Himself to us 
by the unfolding of his Spirit working in us. And in 
this seeking Him persistently there is to be earnest- 
ness and constancy. No other seeking of God is 
worthy of the seeker, or of the object sought. Yet it 
is a mark of infinite love and condescension in God 
that He does reveal himself to each according to the 
faith and diligence with which He is sought. 

" O for such love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break ; 
And all harmonious human tongues 
Their Saviour's praises speak." 

In this manner should all sinners seek God by a faith 
excluding all doubt from the heart. But that is only 
the negative part of a saving faith. To bring salvation 
or any other blessing from the divine hand, not alone 
must the heart be freed from doubt but it must be 
filled with belief or confidence that God will bestow 
the blessing sought. This is fully set forth in Marh 
xi, 23: "And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall 
believe that those things which he saith shall come to 
pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. " But one may 
say I can not control my heart; I have a natural in- 
difference, coldness in regard to my salvation, and a 
heart of unbelief. We answer, read carefully and dili- 
gently the word of God in regard to salvation, listen 
attentively to the preaching of the gospel of salva- 
tion, and then if you do not feel deeply your need of 
salvation, and doubts or fears arise and (as you say) 



238 SALTATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

you can not believe this is a good indication, it 
shows and you feel your utter helplessness. Then cry 
to God for help. Ask Him to give you the Holy 
Spirit to help your infirmities, and to "make interces- 
sion for you with groanings which cannot be uttered;" 
to bring deep and pungent conviction to your 
heart; for the Saviour says, "He will convict the world 
of sin, of righteousness and of judgment," to in- 
spire faith in your heart, for Paul says this is the gift 
of God. Ask the people of God to unite with you in 
prayer for all this, for Christ assures that He will 
hear His "elect who cry unto Him day and night," 
and that He "is more willing to give the Holy Spirit 
to them that ask Him than parents are to give good 
gifts unto their children." But while you ask the 
people of God to pray for you do not leave all the 
praying to them for God's word declares (and it shall 
never fail) that "He that calleth on the name of the 
Lord shall be saved," and " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved." 

If any poor souls will persevere in such a course as 
this, with all the purpose and faith they have, they are 
sure to obtain a plenty of feeling, faith, and finally 
pardon, regeneration and an adoption into the family 
of God. 

Then faith brings the assurance, the witness of the 
Spirit bearing " witness with our spirits that we are 
the children of God." Seek this earnestly, seek it 
continuously, seek it perseveringly by faith, and, it 
will be given full, clear, satisfactory and abiding. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 239 

After much experience and observation we are fully 
satisfied that of late these things are not as fully 
explained, and as earnestly insisted upon, by many 
whose life-business it is to labor for the salvation of 
souls, as they used to be and as they ought to be. 
We frequently hear it said by those of modern times 
who are instructing those seeking salvation and com- 
plain that they cannot feel their sins, that "feeling is 
of no consequence, only believe." Now, while feeling 
is of no consequence as meriting salvation, neither is 
faith; yet faith is the G-od-appointed condition of 
salvation, and feeling is the natural result of that 
earnestness which is an essential concomitant of the 
diligence with which everyone should seek God, and 
feeling is a necessary part of that deep contrition of 
soul becoming every truly penitent heart. Feeling is 
a natural expression not only of true penitence, but of 
the "peace that passeth understanding' ' and of that 
" joy that is unspeakable and full of glory." A soul 
without feeling is like a body without it, lifeless. 
We cannot think that any acceptable service can be 
rendered to God by an unfeeling or lifeless soul. 
Then, friendly sinner, throw all the feeling of a soul 
fully alive to the guilt of sin and its damning and 
corrupting power, as though your salvation depends 
upon the earnestness with which you seek God ; and 
then seek Him with that self abandonment and unre- 
served trust in Him, and in Jesus Christ whom He 
has sent, as though, (as is really true) " by grace ye 
are saved through faith, and that not of yourself ; it 



240 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

is the gift of God." Then may you "add to your 
faith knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to tem- 
perance Godliness, to Godliness brotherly kindness, to 
brotherly kindness charity, and to charity hope, for 
hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is 
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is 
given unto us.' ' Hallelujah to God and the Lamb! 
Amen! 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 241 

CH1PTEK XII. 

FAITH THE CONDITION OF ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 

Acts xxvi, 18: " That they may receive forgiveness 
of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified 
by faith that is in me," 

This is very plain as to the condition of sanctifica- 
tion. It is by faith in Christ as our sanctifier. We 
learn also that it is the church, and not unconverted 
sinners that Christ sanctifies, in Ephesians v, 25, 26, 
27: "Even as Christ loved the church, and gave Him- 
self for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with 
the washing of water by the word. That He might 
present it to Himself a glorious church, not having; 
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." 

Here then we have set before us faith as the con- 
dition of sanctification, but the word of G-od written 
and spoken as the instrument of sanctification. This 
last passage also plainly indicates that when sanctifica- 
tion of believers is spoken of in the Bible (contrary 
to what is asserted by some), that "sanctification 
always refers to a work connected with conversion, 
unless entire sanctification is specified/' it does 
generally mean entire sanctification. As faith in 
Christ is the condition of entire sanctification then, 
and it is said to be the will of God, " even your sancti- 
fication," it is important that every instrumentality be 
used to promote the faith of the church (which Christ 
31 



242 SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and God the Father wishes to be sanctified) in Him as 
the sanctifier. 

As the word is the main if not the only instrument 
of sanctification (as it is of justification and regenera- 
tion), it is important that the church study the word 
of God on this subject, and that it be expounded fully 
to the church, both in preaching and writing, by 
those whom God has appointed and called " for the 
perfecting of the saints.-" 

In studying the word of God with reference to this 
subject, studying it as Christ directs "search the holy 
scriptures," His people will be astonished at the 
amount of instruction thereon. Without this study, 
this searching of the word of God, it is quite unbe- 
coming in His people to say they do not believe such a 
doctrine is taught in the Bible, and if on searching 
they find (as they certainly will if they search as they 
-ought under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) that the 
doctrine is taught, it certainly will be more inconsist- 
ent for them to deny, reject or neglect such teachings. 

Probably there are few true Christians, after 
thoroughly examining the Bible and finding any 
doctrine to be taught therein, who will willfully reject 
it, but either they neglect to examine, examine with 
preconceived prejudices, or having found that the 
doctrine is taught, neglect to apply it to their own 
personal experience. No Christian is justifiable in 
neglecting to search the scriptures to ascertain whether 
they do teach that entire sanctification is attainable in 
this life. If it is attainable by any, none can reason- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 243 

ably doubt but it is attainable by all, for God is no 
respecter of persons and is therefore willing to sanctify 
all wholly; He is of infinite power and is therefore 
able to sanctify wholly or save to the uttermost all 
who come unto Him by Christ. All may therefore 
believe in Him with perfect confidence that He is not 
only willing but able to save to the uttermost. 

Some are ready to say, I could believe that G-od 
could and would do this work for me if I lived any- 
where else than jast where I am, but here there is so 
much opposition and so many things against me. Is 
He not just as much present, and able, and willing to 
save here as anywhere else? If so, is your doubt 
not dishonoring to Him? 

Again, God is always the same ; consequently, He 
is just as able to save to the uttermost now, and here, 
and as willing too, as he ever was anywhere. But we 
need not particularize. If your faith is in God it 
rests upon the infinite attributes of an infinite God, 
and there it may abide unmoved "amid the wreck of 
matter and the crash of worlds." 

To establish that faith you need only to know more 
of God as revealed in His word, written and spoken, 
and then as revealed in His work of saving to the 
uttermost the vast numbers who are ready to testify 
to that fact. But if this is not sufficient and your faith 
still falters, as faith is the gift of God and that is 
bestowed by His Spirit, you may ask for the faith you 
need to claim salvation to the uttermost, assured that 



244 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

God is more willing to give it than parents are to give 
good gifts to their children. 

Then again, to inspire faith, we may consider God's 
gift of His Son, not only that He might bring pardon 
and regeneration but sanctification to the whole human 
family. 0, Christian brother or sister, can you doubt 
that He who gave His Son will freely give you all 
things? And then consider that He has already done 
so much in pardoning your sins and in regenerat- 
ing your heart, giving you peace which passeth 
understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory, 
and given the witness of the Spirit that you are 
a child of God and an heir of heaven, and say 
can you doubt that He who has begun and so far 
carried forward His work of saving grace can and will 
complete it in your entire sanctification? Will He 
who has begun to destroy the works of the devil with- 
in you not complete that destruction? Will He who 
has begun to fill you with His Spirit and by that 
Spirit to shed abroad His love in your heart, to fill 
you unutterably full of His glory and of Himself, con- 
tinue so to fill you until you are filled with all the 
fullness of God? 

But many Christians say that with such unstable 
natures as they possess, and amid their unfavorable 
surroundings, if they should obtain entire sanctifica- 
tion they could not live holy lives, and therefore it is 
better for them to remain as they are, at least for a 
time, than to disgrace themselves and bring reproach 
upon the cause of Christ by backsliding. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 245 

This is a similar deception as that by which the 
enemy of all righteousness persuades many sinners to 
delay seeking God in the pardon of sin and the 
regeneration of the heart. We would ask, is it easier 
to live a constant Christian life with a wavering, 
faltering faith, and the carnal nature, or the old man 
still lurking within and striving to gain the mastery, 
than with faith and love made perfect, and the old 
man destroyed, and Christ and love enthroned? Yet 
this is what is presumed in neglecting or refusing to 
seek entire sanctification in the early part of Chris- 
tian experience, lest we backslide and bring a re- 
proach upon the cause. But it is even worse than 
that. It is distrusting God and Christ to keep us in 
the* state of grace into which He proposes to bring us. 

I know, Christian brother or sister, that you 
do not intend any such thing, but this is the way the 
arch enemy is deceiving you and his thousands. God 
who proposes to make blameless, will keep you blame- 
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus, as you are 
assured in I Thessalonians v, 24: "Faithful is He that 
calleth you, who also will do it." Calleth you to 
what? Just what the apostle, under inspiration of 
God, had prayed that you might attain, entire sanctifica- 
tion, making you blameless and preserving you in that 
state. How long? "Unto the coming of our Lord, 
Jesus Christ." Can you not trust Him who is able, 
willing, and faithful to do whatever He has promised. 
All the infinite attributes of God stand pledged, not 
only to make but to keep you blameless. Only trust 



246 SALTATION TO THE UTTEBMOST. 

Him. Fully trust Him, and surely you shall be kept. 
Your faith is the condition then, not only of justi- 
fication but of entire sanctification and of being kept 
or preserved in whatever state you may have attained 
by faith. " We walk by faith" and the life we now 
live we live by the faith of the Son of God. 

And now let us see a little farther as to the method 
of obtaining this highest, this complete state of grace 
or Christian experience. In order to believe any- 
thing we must have a clear view of the thing for 
which we seek, or at least that there is something we 
have not which we greatly need and desire. To 
obtain this clear view we should study the word 
under the illuminating influence of the Spirit. For 
an especial illumination, we should earnestly pray as 
David did: " Open Thou my understanding that I 
may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." Then, 
having this view of our need we may ask the same 
blessed Spirit to guide and inspire us in seeking this 
great blessing or state of grace. In this too we 
should study the word under the illuminating 
influence of the Spirit. 

The writer, under the influence of the Spirit, on 
Christmas night, 1846, was seeking this blessing upon 
his knees in his room, with his Bible in a chair before 
him, when, about midnight (almost in despair), he 
cried out: Lord, I beseech Thee direct me to some 
passage in Thy word that will lead me into the pos- 
session of the blessing I seek. I opened the Bible and 
my eyes fell upon the following: "Blessed are they 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 247 

which do hunger and thirst after righteousness ; for 
they shall be filled. " I cried — Lord Jesus, these 
are thy words ! I do hunger and thirst, I believe thy 
word — now fill me. And like an overflowing stream, 
cleansing me from all sin and filling me with the love,, 
the glory and the fullness of God, I was filled until E 
could receive no more. 

I do not say that all should seek it just as I did' 
and that it will come to them just as it did to me. 
But we do say that the same kind of self-abandon- 
ment, the same dependence upon God, and the same' 
earnest seeking, will bring this full salvation to any 
soul. You must come unto God by Christ ; and none 
can come unto God unless they believe " He is and 
that He is a rewards of those who diligently seek 
Him." This diligent seeking is no less necessary in 
coming to God by Christ for entire sanctification * 
than for justification and regeneration. And this 
diligence implies the same earnestness, continuance 
and perseverance in one case as the other; and' 
without this earnestness, continuance and per- 
severance a failure is just as sure in one case as the 
other. Shall the Christian be less diligent in seeking 
God as a sanctifier than the sinner should be as a 
justifier and a regenerater? Shouid they not wrestle, 
plead, and urge their case until they obtain the bless- 
ing sought? If Jacob wrestled all night for the bless- 
ing of assured protection or deliverance from his 
brother's wrath, should the Christian be less earnest 
to be delivered from an internal foe, and for the? 



248 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

-enthronement and the complete rule of love within ; 
for the slaying of the old man, and the life of Christ 
in all its fullness? Then, and then alone, will the life 
we live be by a perfect faith in the Son of God. 

And now we call attention to the fact that a healthy 
growth of the Christian is upon the condition of con- 
tinued coming to G-od by faith in Christ. Faith con- 
nects the Christian with Christ as the branch is 
connected with the vine. Just as reasonably might 
we expect the branch to live and grow disconnected 
from the vine as that the Christian should live and 
grow disconnected from Christ. 

Those who have watched the mysterious growth of 
the branch which is engrafted into a vine can but be 
struck with the beauty and appropriateness of this 
figure, introduced by the Saviour, to illustrate the 
relation a believer sustains to Him. That it is by faith 
that one is grafted into Christ, and that by unbelief 
one is broken off, and that by continued and con- 
tinually increasing faith alone one abides in Christ is 
clearly taught by the Apostle Paul in Romans xi, 
16-24: 

16. " For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also 
holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches." 

17. "And if some of the branches be broken off and 
thou being a wild olive-tree, wert grafted in among 
them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness 
of the olive-tree." 

18. "Boast not against the branches. But if thou 
boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 249 

19. " Thou wilt say then : The branches were broken 
off that I might be grafted in." 

20. "Well, because of unbelief they were broken 
off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded 
but fear." 

21. "For if God spared not the natural branches, 
take heed lest He also spare not thee." 

22. "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of 
God ; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, 
goodness, if thou continue in His goodness; otherwise 
thou also shalt be cut off." 

23. "And they also, if they abide not still in unbe- 
lief, shall be grafted in ; for God is able to graft them 
in again." 

There is so much and such important instruction in 
this passage that we have quoted it entire ; and now 
we propose carefully to take it up, item by item, 
and as far as we are able cull the rich fruits of instruc- 
tion we find therein : 

16. "For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also 
holy." By the first fruit the apostle evidently means the 
Israelites; and by the lump the multitudes from other 
nations who, by the same or a similar faith and perse- 
verance as Jacob had when he prevailed with God 
and his name was changed to Israel. The first fruit 
was that part of a crop the Israelites were to bring at 
the harvest and offer to God. By thus being offered 
it was made holy. The apostle uses this as a figure 
of the offering of the Israelites to God, by the faith of 
their fathers and their acceptance by God, by which 



250 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

they were ceremonially accounted a holy people, and 
which every one of them who had a similar faith and 
made a personal consecration of themselves to God, were 
accepted and made personally holy. These were the first 
fruits which were holy. Such (says the apostle) are the 
lump or (as would have been better rendered) the mass 
of believers. And he further illustrates this by the 
introduction of another figure : " And if the root be 
holy, so are the branches. " 

A skillful horticulturist knows the advantage of 
grafting into a root over that of into the stock. 
Christ is called in the Bible a root. But in grafting 
into Christ we find that the result is just the opposite 
to that of putting a graft of a branch into a tree; that 
in grafting a branch of a tree into the root of another, 
the fruit is of the nature of the graft, while in graft- 
ing a sinner into Christ as the root the fruit is like the 
root, holy, the branch itself becoming holy. 

In the 17th verse we learn that branches having 
been grafted into Christ may be broken off, and that a 
branch from a wild olive tree (from the unconverted 
world) may be grafted in their place and take of the 
root and fatness of the tree. 

In the 18th verse the apostle warns such not to boast 
against the branches that are broken off, and the rea- 
son is given because: "Thou bearest not the root, but 
the root thee." How vain, how foolish, how wicked 
it is for a Christian to triumph over a fallen brother. 
How much better to labor to restore such an one by 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 251 

kind and encouraging words and deeds. The devil 
and wicked men will sufficiently exult at his downfall. 

19. "Thou wilt say then the branches were 
broken off, that / might be grafted in." As though 
there was not room in the infinity of Christ into which 
to engraft the world. The apostle says : 

20. "Well, because of unbelief they were broken off." 
Here is a plain declaration of the cause of severance 
from Christ and then "thou standestby faith. " 

So we learn that we are not only grafted into Christ 
by faith, but that we stand or abide there by faith. Now, 
considering this figure, everyone can see that the con- 
dition of security of spiritual life and healthy and 
rapid growth is the strength of faith attachment to 
Christ. As the branch of a tree, though it be but a 
graft (which the horticulturist knows is not usually 
as strongly attached as is the natural branch), yet, if 
the faith attachment is strong enough to hold us, we 
need not fear. Let the storms of life beat with vehe- 
mence and fury against us, enraged even by demoniacal 
power, accompanied by hailstones sent by the prince 
of the power of the air, we smile at its rage, and say 
(in the language of Paul, Romans viii, 38, 39) : " I am 
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come. 

"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which 
is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." 

Notwithstanding this assurance, the apostle warns 



252 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

"not to be high-minded, but fear," What are we to 
fear? Why, lest we, being self-confident instead of 
trusting alone and perpetually in G-od, we (beginning 
to feel our own strength) rely upon that instead of 
upon God, for grace to help in every time of need. 
Our adversary is very wily. He is willing, having 
obtained grace and becoming strong, that we should 
feel our strength, providing he can get us to rely upon 
even that God given strength, instead of upon God 
himself who giveth strength only moment by moment 
as we have need, and only that moment, as we trust 
Him to do it. "Behold! therefore, the goodness and 
severity of God ; on them which fell, severity ; but to- 
ward thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness ; 
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." 

We find then that we continue in the goodness of 
God only by faith or trust in Him, and if we do not 
we are cut off. But the 23d and 24th verses give en- 
couragement that if anyone is cut off through unbelief, 
"If he abide not in unbelief shall be grafted in; for 
God is able to graft them in again." But it is hard 
for those who are cut off to believe that God is willing 
to graft them in again, though he may be able. Let 
us see. " For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree 
which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to 
nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall 
these, which be the natural branches be grafted into 
their own olive tree." 

It is also said in Jeremiah iii, 14, "Turn, back- 
sliding children, saith the Lord ; for I am married unto 



SALTATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 253 

you ; and I will take you, one of a city and two of a 
family, and I will bring you unto Zion." 

how good, how merciful, how long forbearing 'is 
our God. How precious, how exceedingly precious are 
His promises; how inspiring to our faith. And yet, 
they should by no means encourage us to backslide, 
while they do encourage to return if we do backslide ; 
for, judging God by human standard, we naturally con- 
clude He will not receive us, though we return; and 
especially if we have wickedly, through sin and unbe- 
lief, departed from Him several times, it is exceedingly 
hard for us to believe that He is able and willing to re- 
store unto us His great salvation. The devil, wicked 
men, and sometimes doubting and illy informed Chris- 
tians are ready to confirm our doubts in this regard ; 
and therefore the improbability of our return is suffi- 
cient to deter us from presuming to depart from God. 
However often we may depart from God we must re- 
turn by faith. We think we have written enough 
upon faith as the condition of salvation to the utter- 
most to inspire such a faith as will thus save, or at 
least to inspire some precious souls to search the holy 
scriptures diligently and to listen attentively to the 
preaching of the word by which their faith may be 
strengthened. 

In closing our remarks upon this important subject 
we would call attention to one more means of the 
increase of faith, which is prayer. I have been 
accustomed to pray much for an increase of faith, and 
often to ask others to unite with me in prayer for an 



254 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

increase of faith, and have experienced good results in 
myself and have thought I had observed good results 
in others, and have heard them testify of such results. 
Yet, at a meeting led by a young sister, I once asked 
the prayers of those present for an increase of faith, 
when I was informed by the leader that such was not 
a proper object of prayer, as it was my duty to believe 
and God always gave the power to believe, as He did to 
discharge every duty. I wondered if she meant that 
He always did this without asking, and my mind 
recurred to the case in which it is said (Luke xvii, 5) 
"and the Apostles said unto the Lord — increase our 
faith," and I concluded if they had made a mistake 
in this prayer the Lord would certainly have corrected 
them. Again, we find that God gives (i" Corinthians 
xii, 9) : "To another, faith by the same Spirit," and 
therefore we may properly ask Him to give us faith 
with faith's increase. 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 255 

CHAPTER XIII. 

SECONDARY AGENTS OF SALVATION. 

Romans x, 14: "And how shall they believe in 
Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall 
they hear without a preacher ?" 

Different classes of preachers are mentioned in 
Ephesians iv, 11, 12: "'And he gave some apostles; 
and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some 
pastors and teachers. 

"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 

To these we desire to address a few words: 

Bear brethren, you doubtless have felt and still feel 
that a very great work has been committed to you. 
This is deeply impressed upon our hearts at each ses- 
sion of the conference, especially by the bishops' 
address to candidates for admission into full connec- 
tion in the conference, which can scarcely fail to im- 
press anew the hearts of all true ministers of the 
gospel with the weighty trusts committed to them. 
And there does not i#il to occur circumstances during 
the year to reimpress the mind and heart with these 
things, so that we need not attempt to do a work here 
which has already been so often more ably and 
forcibly done than we could possibly do it. Neverthe- 
less, more for the benefit of those for whom you are 
•called to labor than for yours, we will say a few things 



256 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

(which come in appropriately, as we think) in regard 
to the connection of the ministry with "Salvation to 
the Uttermost." 

We say we desire to call attention to the import- 
ance of the work of the ministry for the benefit of 
those in behalf of whom they labor. This we will 
explain. 1st. They are called and appointed by G-od 
to their work. The greatness and importance of that 
work are set forth in our preceding pages. It may be 
summed up in these words, to save the world to the 
uttermost. 

That God has called and appointed men to this 
work is sufficiently proven by the passages of the 
inspired word which we have already quoted, which 
might be multiplied. 

We have said the prime agent in this work is the 
Holy Ghost. The secondary agency is the ministry. 

The prime agent choses to work mainly through 
the secondary. This is proved by the following, Acts 
xiii, 2, 3, 4: 

" The Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and 
Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 
And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their 
hands on them they sent them away." 

"So they, being sent forth by the Holy, Ghost, 
departed unto Seleucia ; and from thence they sailed 
to Cyprus." This is God's order in the accomplish- 
ment of this great work. 

2d. This being God's order, and the church being 
the judge of the fact of this call (being informed by 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 257 

the Holy Ghost), and being sent to teach all men the 
gospel of the Son of God, it is unquestionably the 
duty of all to hear them. If it is the duty of the 
minister to go and p'reach, it is the duty of people to 
come and hear. While it may be the duty of the 
minister to visit from house to house and teach the 
people, saints and sinners, and to pray with them, that 
is not preaching the gospel in the especial sense of the 
term. 

That it is not the method God designed and which 
the church and the world generally understands to be 
the way of preaching the gospel, though it may be a 
way. The way, is to arrange a place where it is con- 
venient for the people to meet and listen and for the 
preacher to preach, and ^ if it is the duty of the 
preacher there to preach it is no less the duty of the 
people to go and hear. God, who has made it the 
duty of the preacher to go and preach, has made it the 
duty of the people to come and hear, and He will hold 
the people just as responsible for the discharge of 
their duty as He will the minister for the discharge of 
his. 

When the Saviour sent forth His ministers to preach 
he said : " He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he 
that receiveth me, receiveth Him that sent me, and he 
that rejecteth you rejecteth me, and he that rejecteth 
me rejecteth Him that sent me." 

Probably few realize that when they are making a 
very trifling excuse answer to keep them from the 
house of God where His word is proclaimed, that they 
33 



258 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

are treating the messenger of God with indifference and 
in so doing they are treating the king of heaven and 
earth with indifference. They would not dare to so 
treat a messenger sent to them by the chief magistrate 
of their own government, and an offer of pardon and 
of great wealth and a delightful heritage from the 
government on reasonable conditions. 

Dear reader, this is eminently true of the messenger 
of salvation sent by God to the rebel subjects of His 
government. 

The apostle Paul says: "Now then we are ambassa- 
dors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; 
we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
to God." 

An ambassador is the prime minister of one govern- 
ment sent to the court of another government, and rep- 
resenting the authority of that government by which 
he is appointed. An ambassador is also sometimes 
employed by a government to treat with rebel subjects, 
to offer terms of reconciliation and of all favors pro- 
posed by the government. The latter seems to be the 
sense in which the term is employed by Paul in 
reference to ministers of the gospel, and is the right- 
ful subject of the moral government of God. God's 
right to rule man is based upon the fact that He who 
makes or creates any thing has a right to all the 
services that thing can render. If this be true of a 
mere thing, a house, a steamer, a watch, a telescope 
or of any kind of machinery or work of art of man's 
device, it is even more evidently true of man himself, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 259 

a being most fearfully and wonderfully made. He is 
the author of our being, body, soul and spirit, with 
all the faculties we possess. 

If things merely formed by man out of material 
furnished to his hand belong to him, with all the 
services they can render, how much more does man, 
whom God has created ; even the material of which 
his body is made, and the substance of which his soul 
and spirit are composed, with all the powers and 
capacities with which he is endowed, belong to Him. 

So far as we can learn, of all earthly things or 
beings man alone is endowed with moral qualities or 
capacities. By this is meant that man alone has 
such capacity as to render him capable of judging of 
right and wrong so as to render him responsible for 
hi% acts. Consequently there is no other earthly 
being that either G-od or man will punish for a wrong 
act, or reward for a right act. Of man, therefore, 
God requires obedience to his laws, affixing a penalty 
for disobedience and a reward for obedience. Man, 
of all earthly beings (so far as we learn), has 
rebelled against the divine government. God, through 
Christ, has proposed to make reconciliation, and by His 
written word, has specified the terms oi reconciliation. 

Now to complete this work and get man to accept 
the terms, and to be reconciled to God, the rightful 
sovereign of heaven and earth, He has sent out His 
ambassadors. " As though God did beseech you by us, 
we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to 
God." * 



260 SALVATIOST TO THE UTTERMOST. 

what a condescension in the infinite sovereign of 
the universe to take the place of the beseecher and 
implore rebel subjects to become reconciled to Himself ! 
And yet more wonderful that such subjects should 
treat His ambassadors with indifference. There can 
be no excuse because God chooses ambassadors who do 
not exactly suit those to whom they are sent. 

Is it reasonable that those occupying the relation of 
offending subjects should dictate to an offended 
sovereign by whom He should send terms of recon- 
ciliation? 

1 have frequently thought, when I have heard per- 
sons, especially Christian people, complain of the 
ministers who are adjudged by their brethren to be 
called of the Holy Ghost to preach the gospel, should 
excuse themselves for staying away from the sanctuary 
because they do not like the preacher. I have thought 
that some who do this because the minister is not as 
well educated as they think he ought to be might 
have objected to Christ on the same ground, of whom 
it was said (and perhaps truthfully) He had never 
learned letters, at least to any considerable extent, so 
as to be accounted literary even in His day. They 
most likely would have found fault with most if not 
with all of the twelve apostles whom Jesus chose as 
the leaders in His embassy to the Jewish doctors, 
lawyers, learned scribes, and to the learned men of 
Greece and Kome, to the emperors, kings, governors, 
and judges of earth, as well as to the poor and 
lowly. Paul, probably the most learned . of all the 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 261 

apostles, says, / Corinthians i, 26-31 : "For ye see your 
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after 
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are 
called : 

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the 
weak things of the world to confound the things 
which are mighty. 

" And base things of the world and things which are 
despised hath God chosen, yea and things which are 
not, to bring to naught things that are : 

" That no flesh should glory in His presence. 

" But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is 
made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctifi- 
cation, and redemption : 

" That, according as it is written, he that glorieth, 
let him glory in the Lord." 

These things are written for the benefit of a fault- 
finding people who had divided into factions in favor 
of one minister above another. And this is left upon 
record for the benefit of all similar churches. 

Prom the foregoing we draw the conclusions : 

First. That as God has called men of different 
natural and acquired ability to the work of the 
ministry, it is the duty of those thus called to bend 
all their energies for a reasonable length of time to a 
preparation for their work that they may show them- 
selves workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the word of God. As to the time that should 
be spent in preparation for this work before entering 



262 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

thereon, it of coufse depends upon circumstances. If 
young men or young ladies feel called to this, in very 
early life, we think reason indicates, and we think 
if they inquire of the Lord He will by His Spirit 
indicate to them, that they ought to educate them- 
selves for it as thoroughly as they would for any other 
profession requiring a thoroughly trained intellect. 
We are slow to believe that God requires anything less 
than is reasonable. Neither do we believe that God 
will make up by special grace or by a special gift of 
His Spirit what one can acquire by his own effort. 

While the ability to speak with other tongues than 
that in which they were born, and doubtless mir- 
aculous power to speak in their own language was 
given to the early Christian ministers to meet an 
emergency, we have no reason to believe that power 
will be given to those of the present age who have the 
opportunity to acquire ability at least to preach in 
their own language with propriety and power, facili- 
ties are becoming such at our age, in our own and in 
other countries, that youth who have energy and per- 
severance can by their own efforts obtain an educa- 
tion sufficient to qualify them for any of the profes- 
sions. 

We are rejoiced that the Christian churches are 
waking up to the importance of aiding young men, 
and we should not be sorry to see them wake up to the 
importance of equally educating young women who 
are called to the work of the ministry to acquire an 
education therefor. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKXOST. 263 

There may be cases similar to that of T. D. Moody 
when in riper years ; God may yet and always call men 
of little or even of no education to go immediately 
into the work of the ministry, but these cases are fast 
becoming the exceptions and a scholastic education 
the general rule. We are satisfied that this is by 
divine order and approval, as He is evidently prompt- 
ing the most pious and considerate youth of our age to 
seek a thorough education for the ministry, and at the 
same time stirring the hearts of all branches of the 
Christian church to make it easier for them to do so. 

To farther convince us of His approval of this 
course the Lord is more and more blessing Christian 
colleges and universities with gracious revivals of 
religion, in which many are converted, wholly sanc- 
tified, and (if not before) are called to the work of 
the ministry. 

Beyond this many are being moved to take a theo- 
logical course in well furnished schools for this pur- 
pose. To this also God seems to set His seal of 
approval by moving the people to endow such schools, 
and to furnish means to enable the students to take 
such a course; and then greatly blesses them in it by 
opening the way for the students to supply pulpits 
near at hand, to go out and hold revival services, and 
in many instances wonderfully blessing their labor,, 
and baptising them with power from on high for their 
present and future work. So it seems as though their 
entire course, from the time they start in the academy 
until they finish in the theological department, is a 



264 SALYATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

normal school for the ministry of the Lord Jesus 
Christ on which the blessing of the Infinite Father, 
Son and Holy Ghost continually rests. 

We say we believe God calls the young, especially of 
the present age, to this work of preparation, just as 
truly as he does to the active duties of the ministry 
when this preparation is completed. 

As early as 1841 the writer, when a boy of seventeen 
years, felt called, not to enter upon the active duties 
of the ministry, but upon a course of preparation; 
and promised the Lord that if he would open the way 
he would enter upon and as long as he opened the 
way he would pursue such a course. He felt that 
then the time had come for young men of the M. E. 
church in the State of Indiana to take higher ground 
in regard to ministerial education than formerly. God 
opened the way, and he kept his pledge, except by oc- 
casional falterings, because he was not encouraged 
with offers of aid by his own denomination while he 
was by another. At length this was remedied, for 
while but little aid was given encouragement was given, 
and under the blessing of God and a little help from 
brethren he worked his way until, in the year 1848, he 
had completed the sophomore year and entered the 
junior in the Indiana Asbury University. During 
the long vacation intervening between the sophomore 
and junior years he had taught school and secured 
means which he thought would take him through an- 
other year; but in the meantime a presiding elder got 
hold of him and persuaded him that he ought to leave 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 265 

the University and join the Northern Indiana Confer- 
ence which he said, greatly needed young men such as 
he was. This was undoubtedly the great error of his 
life. 

We record this as a warning to all presiding elders, 
not to interfere with a covenant existing between 
young men and their God. 

We are firmly of the opinion that where the way is 
open for those who are called of God to preach to 
graduate, in a classical and theological course, they 
ought to do it, unless God plainly directs otherwise. 
More than this, when such a way is open, we think it 
exceedingly improbable that God will direct otherwise, 
and therefore we warn such candidates to weigh well 
any suggestions to leave school lest it originate from 
the devil, whoever brings it. 

One more suggestion : Having done all you can in 
educating yourself for the ministry be sure not to de- 
pend upon that, go to God for power from on high as 
though you had no other endowment, and then, all 
through your ministry, seek special aid and guidance 
in every department of your work ; then will you be sure 
of success and happiness therein. The less you interfere 
with your appointments the better it will be for you. 

If you make yourself worthy of good appointments 
you will usually get them. If you get a bad appoint- 
ment without your interposition you will not be re- 
sponsible. When you receive your appointment go to 
it cheerfully, and if you find it a hard one don't let 
anybody know that you think it so, but in the name of 



266 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

God resolve to make it the best appointment in the 
conference, and though it may not be so to others it 
will doubtless be so to you. 

Some of the hardest fields I have ever had have 
been my most successful ones. My greatest victories 
have been won on the most difficult fields. 

Sometimes my brethren have told me beforehand 
that the field to which they assigned me was difficult, 
and that they wanted me to take it because they be- 
lieved I would do it in the name of the God of battles, 
and I have considered that the greatest honor that has 
ever been bestowed upon me, except that conferred by 
God, when "He counted me worthy, putting me into 
the ministry," of which I have ever considered myself 
unworthy. 

Having spent thirty-seven years in the regular work, 
after spending seven in preparing therefor and being 
now a superannuate, I can say to my younger breth- 
ren: It is my judgment that your calling is the most 
exalted ever bestowed upon mortals. It demands and 
should engross all your native, acquired and God-given 
powers of body, mind and soul, all you have and all 
you may obtain. You may not be apostles or prophets, 
in the general acceptation of those terms; but you 
may be evangelists, pastors and teachers, and God de- 
signs that, to the extent you are capable or can be 
made capable by your own efforts and by His abundant 
grace, you should be complete in all these. It may 
not be that God shall set you apart especially to any 
one, though it would seem by the language of Ephe- 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 267 

sians iv, 11, "and he gave some evangelists, and some 
pastors and teachers," that these were distinct classes, 
yet it is evident that at least in some instances, if not 
always, the minister should combine the three. 

Timothy, though ordained the first bishop of the 
church of the Ephesians, is exhorted, (/ Timothy iv, 
11): "These things command and teach," showing 
that he was to be a teacher as well as a bishop, and in 
II Timothy iv, 5, "do the work of an evangelist," show 
ing that he was to add this also to the work of a bishop 
and teacher. Unquestionably, all are to be pastors 
feeding the flock of Christ over which the Holy Ghost 
hath made them overseers. 

And all this is to be done as secondary agents in the 
great salvation, salvation to the uttermost; while the 
Holy Ghost, the prime agent, works in you to will and 
to do His good pleasure. 



268 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

GROWTH IK GRACE. 

Ephesians iv, 12-32: "For the edifying of the 
Saints/ ' etc. 

In the foregoing we have remarked that there was an 
evident difference between purity and maturity, 
between growing into and growing in holiness. 

The Bible teaches that the Christian is to obtain 
holiness or entire sanctification by faith instantane- 
ously, as a work wrought in the heart by the applica- 
tion of the blood of Christ, by the agency of the Holy 
Spirit. 

Hitherto we have examined the teachings of the 
Bible and of human experience upon the subject of 
-Christian perfection. We now come to the examina- 
tion of the Bible as to Christian growth or maturity. 
It is evident that there is a difference between a 
perfect child and a perfect man. A child may be 
perfect in all its parts and not have perfect health in 
all respects. It seems from the teachings of the 
Bible and from the general experience of Christians 
that in conversion or regeneration the disease of sin, 
as far as that originating from personal transgressions 
is concerned, is cured, but not that originating from 
Adam's transgression. We have seen that this cure is 
completed in entire sanctification and that it may be 
done, if not at conversion immediately after or at any 



SALVATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 269 

subsequent time. We have also seen that Christian 
growth may occur before this perfect cure, but that it 
is likely to be a more rapid and healthy growth when 
the child is restored to perfect spiritual health, as 
the body does when its physical health is perfect. 

We learn from Ephesians iv, the latter part of the 
12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th verses, that the third 
object of God's giving the various classes of ministers 
is "the edifying of the body of Christ." By body 
of Christ is meant His church, as we learn from Colos- 
sians i, 18: "And he is the head of the body, 
the church. " By the edification of this body is 
doubtless meant the growth or enlargement of this- 
body. It is evident that the apostle contemplates its 
enlargement not only by the accession of numbers, but 
by the growth of its individual members as appears 
from the language used in the 13 th, 14th, 15 th and 
16th verses: "'Till we all come in thg unity of the 
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of G-od unto a 
perfect man ; unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ: 

" That we henceforth be no more children, tossed 
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of 
doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, 
whereby they lie in wait to deceive : 

"But speaking the truth in love, grow up into Him 
in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 

"From whom the whole body fitly joined together 
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, 
according to the effectual working of every part,. 



270 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself 
in love." 

Now let us analyze this passage a little : 

" Till we all come/' showing what one may and 
ought to do all may do; "in the unity of the faith," 
showing the necessity in order, that there may be 
edifying of the body or the church, that there be a 
unity of faith (we think) in all essentials; "and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God," showing that such 
a knowledge is necessary, both theoretical and experi- 
mental, as we conclude, and the more perfect this 
knowledge is the more perfect and complete will the 
growth of every one of the members of Christ's body 
(His church) be. 

And this knowledge of the Son of God is to be 
obtained not only by "searching of the scriptures," as 
he has taught us, "they are they that testify of me," 
and the preaching of the word, which is preaching 
Christ, but by the direct communication of the Holy 
Spirit, of whom the Saviour says: "He shall take the 
things of mine and shall show them unto you." 

And to what are we to come. "Unto a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
Christ." Surely this is exceedingly expressive of an 
exceedingly high state of mind or spiritual attainment. 
But the apostle says, "till we all come to that." If 
therefore we do not we live beneath our privilege 
and beneath the design of God in giving his Son to 
die for us, and in giving us the ministry. 

But for what object are we to grow to such spiritual 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 271 

proportions? " That we be no longer children tossed to 
and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine 
by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby 
they lie in wait to deceive. " 

This is a true pen-picture (drawn under the influ- 
ence of the Spirit) of but too many Christians who 
remain babes, and even sickly babes, all their lives. 
After telling Christians what they should not be the 
apostle tells them what they should do, "speaking 
the truth in love. 5 ' 

what power there is in thus speaking the truth. 
How people grow thereby. They grow up into Christ, 
their living head in all things. And thus growing 
each arrives at the stature of perfect manhood ; some, 
it may be, taller, larger and stronger than others, and 
yet all attain perfect manhood in Christ. And then, 
according to the beautiful illustration drawn by the 
apostle, "the whole body fitly joined together and 
compacted by that which every joint (or part) sup- 
plieth." By this we learn that every Christian is to 
occupy a place in the church, that every one is to be 
an effectual worker, and thus make increase of the 
body unto the edifying of itself in love. Being edified 
in love the unconverted world will say: "Behold how 
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell to- 
gether in unity." 

How different this is from a church in which one 
after another leaves the body because they don't exactly 
like some one or more therein. How much better to 



272 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

edify one another in love and thereby edify the whole 
body. 

I have frequently asked myself the question, and 
wanted to ask others, if they think an eye, an arm, a hand, 
afoot or any other member of the human body (which 
the apostle takes to illustrate the relation each member 
of Christ's church sustains to Him as the head, and to 
each other), could grow and perform their several func- 
tions and tvorks as well severed from each other as they 
could in union? How then can we expect the Christian 
church to grow as a whole; how indeed can we expect 
any memler of that church to grow, maintain the func- 
tions of spiritual life and do its work effectually, dis- 
connected from the church, which is the body of 
Christ? 

It may be said each Christian can maintain a living 
connection with Christ Himself (the living head), live 
and perform the functions and duties of life, just as 
well disconnected f rdm the church. Just as well may 
we expect this of the arm, hand, leg, foot and every 
member of the human body. If, therefore, a human 
body with its arms, hands, legs, feet and every other 
a member directly attached to the head would be 
monstrosity, so would be a Christian church thus 
constructed. Christ Himself has fixed it as an 
unalterable law of our spiritual life, growth and ac- 
tivity, that we should be dependeut upon each other 
as He has that the different members of the human 
(or any other living body) should be thus dependent. 

In the verses succeeding those we have quoted the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 273 

apostle goes on to instruct the church at Ephesus and 
through it to instruct all others, what they should - 
avoid and what they should do in order to a rapid and 
healthy growth. First, they are not to walk (or live) 
as other Gentiles walked in the vanity of their minds, 
etc. "But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that 
ye have heard Him, as the truth is in Jesus." Here 
we learn that the first thing in order to a healthy 
spiritual growth is instruction in the truth as it is in 
Jesus. This is equivalent to being fed on such truth. 
We all know that food (of a proper kind and quantity) 
is necessary to a healthy and rapid growth. 

The same idea is presented in I Peter ii, 2, 3: "As 
new-born babes desire the sincere (or pure) milk of 
the word that ye may grow thereby. 

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 

Then Paul states what they had been taught — what 
we have already set forth in our first three chapters of 
our second section: "That ye put off concerning the 
former conversation the old man, whiah is corrupt 
according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the 
spirit of your mind." 

This, we are to note, is said of converted Christians, 
and doubtless by the old man is meant the Adamic 
nature. 

Then, the apostle says : "And that ye put on the 
new man (by which Christ is doubtless meant), which 
after God is created in righteousness and true holi- 
ness." This is just what we assumed in the beginning 
of this chapter — that being made perfectly holy or 
35 



274 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

healthy is necessary to a healthy and rapid growth. 
And now the apostle, having pointed out the first two 
great requisites to spirit growth— first, food, second, 
perfect health or purity — proceeds to point out a third 
action or exercise. 

First he tells us what not to do. To put away lying, 
we are to speak every man truth to his neighbor (or 
brother), and gives as a reason, (i for we are members, 
one of another." As though he would say if we lie 
against a brother we are like a hand injuring some 
other member, or like the tongue that would speak 
injuriously of any or all the other members of the 
body. " Be ye angry and sin not ; let not the sun go 
down upon your wrath.' ' 

Now, here is an apparent contradiction of other 
portions of the Bible and of the general sentiment of 
the Christian world that anger is of itself necessarily 
sin. 

Mr. Oruden says that anger as applied to God is put 
for His just displeasure for sin. Doubtless this is the 
sense in which it is said, Mark iii, 5, that Jesus " looked 
round about on them with anger, being grieved for 
the hardness of their hearts." Doubtless it was in 
this sense that Paul says : " Be ye angry and sin not," 
and in this sense any Christian can be angry and sin 
not. While this does not justify indulgence in an 
evil passion, commonly known as sinful anger, yet it 
does not justify the general condemnation of all dis- 
pleasure at sin nor even of the manifestation of such 
displeasure in a proper manner. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 275 

We have no doubt but by His very look the Saviour 
manifested his displeasure, and yet, doubtless, there 
was a peculiar appearance which to a discerning eye 
and a just discrimination would mark it as a grief. 
But if there were those present who desired to get 
something against Him with which to find fault, as 
there are frequently those present who are ready to 
condemn his followers, particularly if they profess 
entire sanctification, they would doubtless have said 
He was mad, as is often said of His followers when 
they are only justly displeased. 

It is highly important, however, that the Christian, 
especially if he profess entire sanctification, should be 
exceedingly careful that he does not indulge a really 
angry passion, which is unquestionably sinful, and, as 
the apostle says, that he "lets not the sun go down 
upon his wrath; neither give place to the devil." 
The apostle goes on with such instructions as we 
might expect a God of infinite wisdom to give, and 
which, if followed strictly, doubtless anyone following 
them will make a rapid spiritual growth and become 
amoral giant. "Let him that stole steal no more; 
but rather let him labor, working with his own hands 
that he may have to give to him that needeth." It 
may be said that this cannot hardly be designed for 
the instruction of Christians, as they would not need 
instruction to cease from stealing as they do not 
steal. This is true, yet until entirely cleansed from a 
carnal nature, and even after he is, by temptation 
anyone may be overcome, and yielding may fall into 



276 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST, 

this as well as other sins, and this passage instructs 
him what to do in such a case. He must not only 
repent and seek pardon and make restitution, as we 
are taught in other parts of the Bible, but steal no 
more ; and, as he grows strong to resist temptation, 
he can cease from this and all sins. 

" But rather let him labor." A lazy Christian is an 
enormity. But for what is he to labor? That he may 
give to him that needeth. A stingy Christian is a 
dwarf, but it is not only true that " the liberal soul 
shall grow fat," but it shall grow strong. 

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your 
mouth." How much is the growth of individual 
Christians and of the whole body of Christians hin- 
dered by a disregard of this injunction. But what is 
to proceed out of the mouth of the Christian ? Why, 
" that which is good to the use of edifying, that it 
may minister grace to the hearers." 0! if every mem- 
ber of every church would do this, then would not 
each one grow not only to large and mighty propor- 
tions but would attain to beauty and excellence of 
spiritual life, which would secure the admiration of 
beholders. Then, indeed, would a church composed of 
such members be " fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 
and terrible as an army with banners." 

As we pursue the instructions of the apostle we still 
further obtain a view of the development of a perfect 
Christian manhood, as he says: "And grieve not the 
Holy Spirit cf God whereby ye are sealed unto the 
day of redemption." How many grieve this Holy 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 277 

Spirit of God, when He would restrain from evil and 
inspire to do right? When He would sanctify wholly 
and cause a healthy and rapid spiritual growth? In 
short, when He seeks, as the prime agent of salvation, 
to do all this unto perfection. He is grieved because 
by our unbelief we will not allow Him to do what He 
so ardently desires. Because of this, spiritual growth 
is hindered and moral excellence, beauty and grandeur 
are marred if not destroyed. 

Again we are admonished: "Let all bitterness and 
wrath, and anger, be put away from you with all 
malice." Certainly these things are indications of 
anything but a Christian spirit, and yet we must con- 
clude that the apostle understood that it is possible, 
that to some extent they might be entertained, else he 
would not have exhorted his Ephesian brethren to 
put all bitterness, etc., away 

By a similar course of reasoning we conclude that 
all these may be put away. What does he say the 
Christian is to have and exercise instead? "And be 
ye kind one to another, tender-hearted." Oh! how 
such a spirit develops the one who exercises it. How 
beautiful, lovely and happy it makes him, and how it 
sheds a halo of beauty, loveliness and happiness upon 
all around. 

"Forgiving one another." This presumes that 
there are faults or offences committed by Christians, 
whether designedly or undesignedly. No Christian is 
so perfect as to be free from mistakes. None are per- 
fect in knowledge, and therefore may commit offences 



278 SALVATIOtf TO THE UTTEEMOST. 

by mistake, either against God or the brethren. 
These are not sins, until made known to the offender 
as such, but then they become sins, and the offender 
should ask forgiveness from the offended, who 
should always be ready to forgive, even as God for 
Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Forgive as we would 
be forgiven. One of the disciples of Christ asked him : 
" How often shall my brother offend against me and I 
forgive him? Until seven times?" Jesus said: "I say 
not unto thee until seven times but until seventy 
times seven." Eevenge is cowardly; to forgive is 
God-like. 

We are often asked if we ought to forgive an offense 
before we are asked to do so? We might answer 
directly, no ; but we will explain lest the answer be 
misconstrued. To any offense there are two parties, 
the offender and the offended. Both parties should 
desire reconciliation. In order to do this both 
parties should do what they can to bring about a 
reconciliation. If the offended have any doubt 
whether the offender knows that he has offended, he 
should tell him that fact ; and, if he asks forgiveness, 
he should readily, and as though it afforded him a 
pleasure, forgive. 

Not long since I heard two mature Christians (as I 
supposed) talking about forgiving and asking forgive- 
ness. They both came to the conclusion that it was 
not the duty of anybody to forgive another if that 
other turned right around and offended again. I 
thought they were not very mature in the knowledge 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 279 

of Christ's teaching, that they were mere babes in 
Christ and needed to be "fed on the sincere (or 
pure) milk of the word." 

Thus far we have pointed out as clearly and as fully 
as possible, in the time and space we think best to 
occupy in setting forth: 

First. What constitutes Christian growth? To be 
fed upon the word, written, spoken, or embodied in 
Christ and revealed by the agency of the Holy Ghost. 

Second. What means God has ordained for its pro- 
motion? Exercise in godliness, or the living of a 
godly life. 

In all our investigations of this great subject of 
"Salvation to the Uttermost," we have been and 
expect to be guided by the instructions of the word, 
and prompted by the Holy Spirit of God. We can 
only give a brief outline of these teachings, and must 
leave the reader to farther pursue an investigation of 
the subject which we have so briefly outlined. 

We pray that in so doing the reader may be guided 
and prompted by the same blessed Spirit, and that it 
may lead all into a rich, a Messed experience of utter- 
most salvation. In closing this chapter we would 
address a few words to our brethren in the ministry. 

We have seen that God has given you to the world 
to promote this salvation to the uttermost. To do this 
effectually you have great need of a rich and full experi- 
ence of this salvation in all its bearings and in all its 
fullness and power. When it was said to you: "Go 
ye into all the world and preach the gospel/' it waa 



280 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

important that you should tarry until you were 
endowed with power from on high, and that you 
should often tarry and pray for this endowment. As, 
at your reception into full connection in the con- 
ference, you said you expected to be made perfect in 
love in this life, and that you were "earnestly striv- 
ing after it," you should never rest short of the 
abiding testimony of the Spirit that you are thus 
made perfect in love, Then, is it too much that you 
are, by God, put into the ministry, "for the perfect- 
ing of the saints ," as well as for the conversion of 
sinners, and that you should urge them "to strive 
after perfect love?" 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 281 

CHAPTER XV. 

RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION. 

Romans viii, 23: "Waiting for the adoption, to 
wit, the redemption of our bodies." 

Thus far we have considered this uttermost salva- 
tion so far as it pertains to the present life. We now 
call attention to it as pertaining to the. future life, or 
to life eternal in the world to come. This consists : 

First. With the resurrection of the body. 

Second. Of the reunion of soul and body. 

Third. Of the introduction of spirit, soul and body, 
into an eternal life of glory and blessedness in heaven. 

The redemption made by Christ in the shedding of 
His blood is too confined in our thought to the 
redemption of the soul, or spiritual nature, from the 
death to which it was exposed by the transgression, in 
which it dies immediately at transgression, the pains of 
which (being itself immortal) it ever suffers until 
delivered from it at the time it passes from death 
unto life, as mentioned in Ephesians ii, 4, 5, 6: " But 
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love, where- 
with He hath loved us, even when we were dead 
in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ (by 
grace ye are saved) and hath raised us up together, 
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus." 

Surely a redemption from such a death to such a 



282 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

life is a glorious redemption. And that life is 
eternal, for the Saviour says, John v, 24, " He that 
heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, 
hath everlasting life." 

But now we call attention to the redemption of the 
body from the death to which it is exposed as a 
penalty for sin. 

It is written that death came by sin, and this is 
true of the death of the body as it is of the death of 
the soul and of the soul and body in hell. 

The text which stands at the head of this chapter 
speaks of the redemption of our bodies, and the same 
is set forth in the following, Lulce xxi, 27, 28 : "And 
then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, 
with power and great glory. 

"And when these things begin to come to pass then 
look up, and lift up your head for your redemption 
draweth nigh." 

Ephesians i, 13, 14: "In whom we also trusted, 
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of 
your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed 
ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which 
is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption 
of the purchased possession unto the praise of hi& 
glory." 

Ephesians iv, 30: "And grieve not the Holy Spirit 
of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
tion." 

Hebrews ix, 12: "Neither by the blood of goats and 
calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 283 

the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption 
for us/' and in the 15th verse, "and for this cause He 
is the mediator of the new testament, that by means 
of death, for the redemption of the transgressions 
that were under the first testament, they which are 
called might receive the promise of eternal inherit- 
ance." 

These passages, together with that standing at the 
head of this chapter, set forth not only the fact that 
all men by the shedding of the blood of Christ, were 
redeemed from death, spiritual, physical and eternal, 
but that there was purchased for them life, glorious 
life, spiritual, physical and the life eternal of soul and 
body in heaven. And that for this being He purchased 
an inheritance, "incorruptible, undefiled and that 
fadeth not, reserved in heaven for you," as is said in 
I Peter i, 4. 

But we desire to call attention more particularly to 
the glory of the redemption of the body. 

We are impressed with the fact that many, even 
very good Christians, underrate the human body. God 
made the body as well as the spirit and soul and 
pronounced it, as well as His other creation, very good. 
Most persons seem to think that God made the 
body only as the temporary, earthly abiding place of 
the soul and spirit. Some seem to regard it only as a 
prison of the immortal part of man, that the immortal 
is hampered and even antagonized by the mortal. We 
think the Bible, right reason and experience teaches 
the opposite ; that the body is the unconscious instru- 



284 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

ment of the spirit and soul, having no life, conscious- 
ness or responsibility disconnected therewith. This 
seems clearly set forth in Job iii, 20 : "Wherefore is 
light given to him that is in misery and life unto the 
bitter in soul." 

This shows that the consciousness of misery and of 
bitterness is in the soul. Indeed, this agrees with all 
experience and observation, that the body is rendered 
unconscious just as soon as the soul leaves it, or by any 
means ceases to act thereupon. This is proven in 
Hebrews iv, 12: "Piercing even to the dividing 
asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and 
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart." 

These passages sufficiently set forth the fact that 
the body has no consciousness separate from the soul, 
and yet that the body is the habitation of the soul. 

It is evident from the passages we have quoted that 
God has provided for the redemption of the body 
through the death, resurrection and coming again of 
Christ. Indeed, we learn that even in this world the 
body may and does have a part in the redemption 
brought out by Christ. We have already seen that 
Paul prays in / Thessalonians v, 23: "That your whole 
spirit and soul, and body be preserved blameless." So 
we see that the body, as well as the spirit and soul, 
may be preserved blameless. 

This presumes that the body may be made blameless, 
so that we conclude that in some sense the body is 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 285 

subject to blame, though we may not be able to see 
how. 

Again we are taught in / Corinthians vii, 1 : "That 
we may be cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh as 
well as of the spirit and perfect holiness in the fear of 
God." 

And then we are taught that such a body thus con- 
secrated is the temple of the Holy Ghost in / Corinthi- 
ans vi, 19, 20: "What! know ye not that your body is 
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which 
you have of God, and ye are not your own? 

"For ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify 
God in your body and in your spirit, which are 
God's." - 

This comes in just after the declaration: "Every 
sin that a man committeth is without the body ;" 
plainly indicating that it is not the body that sins, but 
the man ; by which is unquestionably meant, the soul 
and spirit, which are capable of knowing and under- 
standing the law, the transgression of which is de- 
clared to be sin in / John iii, 4: "Sin is the trans- 
gression of the law." And yet, just after, it is said, 
"every sin that a man committeth is without the 
body;" then it is farther said, "but he that com- 
mitteth fornication sinneth against his own body." 

From this we must unquestionably conclude that 
any man or woman committing any sin which debases, 
corrupts, defiles or in any way injures the body, sins 
against the body and commits sacrilege against the 
Holy Ghost by defiling His temple. 



286 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

If any one is a glutton or a drunkard he is un- 
doubtedly guilty of this sin. 

We cannot see how a Christian, in the light of this 
truth, can use tobacco and in many other ways defile, 
injure and prematurely destroy the body, which is the 
temple of the Holy Ghost. But though under the 
redeeming scheme of divine grace and a proper treat- 
ment by the soul and spirit, which are its superiors 
and without which it is unconscious and helpless, it 
may be honored as the temple of God in this world, 
and as the instrument of the spirit and soul, it may 
glorify God in word and act. 

But it is not to be fully redeemed until the coming 
of our Lord the second time without sin or a sin- 
offering unto salvation. Then, as we are taught in 
Philippians iii, 20, 21 : "For our conversation is in 
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Who shall change our vile body that it may be 
fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to 
the working whereby He is able even to subdue all 
things unto Himself." 

We think that the translators might have found a 
better word by which to have expressed the meaning 
of the original than vile, which conveys to the mind 
the idea of defilement or sinful. It seems to us that 
frail would have been better. However, it matters 
but little in what form the Saviour finds the body, nor 
yet where He shall find it, so long as we are assured 
that He shall change it. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 287 

Those whose spirits have been made by Him, made 
like His own, may with perfect confidence, yea, with 
joy, trust Him to fashion our bodies like unto^Hisown 
glorious body. To be made like his Lord is all to 
which the disciple could aspire. Hallelujah to God! 
that in spirit, soul and body we may be like Him. 

But let us look again at the description of the 
resurrection body as given in / Corinthians xv, 41, 42, 
43, 44: "There is one glory of the sun and another 
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for 
one star differeth from another in glory. So also is 
the resurrection of the dead." By this we learn that 
in degree of glory these bodies raised from the dead 
will differ from one another, as the stars do. 

Doubtless this difference will be just in accord with 
the deeds done in the body and the glory of the spirit 
and soul, and the bliss and joy of the whole being, will 
be in degree in accord with the deeds done in the body. 
But the apostle goes on to say: "It is sown in corrup- 
tion, it is raised in incorruption." Then, in verse 
52nd, it is said: "And the dead shall be raised incor- 
ruptible," which means indestructible. Thank G-od 
for that! But again: "It is sown in dishonor, it is 
raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
power." This can scarcely add anything to what is 
said, "He will change our vile bodies that they may 
be fashioned like unto His glorious body." But in 
verse 41st it is said, "it is sown a natural body, it is 
raised a spiritual body." This gives us light as to the 
nature of the resurrection body, both of the Saviour 



288 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and of ourselves. It is to be spiritual. Just the dif- 
ference between a natural body and a spiritual one we 
cannot tell. 

We notice, however, that Paul does not say that it 
shall be raised a spirit, but a spiritual body. By this 
we understand that the resurrection body will be like 
spirit and adapted to its abode. We suppose it will 
not be governed by physical laws, such as gravitation, 
inertia, etc., so that perhaps with the velocity and 
ease of thought, at our will, we may leave one part of 
God's vast domain and go to another. Our thoughts, 
memory, judgment, affections, wills and all the 
attributes of the immortal soul and spirit, operating 
through our immortal, glorified, empowered and 
spiritual bodies, will doubtless be much superior to 
what they are in this world before the resurrection of 
the body. And we are taught that these bodies, thus 
fashioned, with refined and enlarged faculties, shall be 
reinhkbited by the soul and spirit, also doubtlessly 
greatly refined and enlarged iu all their capacities. 
This seems to be clearly taught in Revelation xx, 4: 
"And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for 
the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and 
which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, 
neither had received his mark upon their foreheads 
nor in their hands, and they lived and reigned with 
Christ a thousand years.' ' This shows that in order 
that those who were beheaded for Christ's sake might 
live it was necessary that their souls return to their 
bodies. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 289 

The same is set forth in the following: "And it 
came to pass as her soul was in departing (for she 
died), that she called his name Ben-oni, but his father 
called him Benjamin. " 

I Kings xvii, 22: "And the Lord heard the voice of 
Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again 
and he revived." 

From these scriptures we conclude that at the 
resurrection of the body the soul comes into it again. 

We learn the same with reference to the spirit in 
Lake viii, 55: "And her spirit came again and she 
arose straightway." 

Whatever difference there may be between the soul 
and spirit we learn that both leave the body at death, 
and return into it at the resurrection. So then, at the 
general resurrection at the last day, as we are taught 
in / Corinthians xv, 51, 52: "Behold I show you a 
mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead 
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 

what a wonderful change! What shall then take 
place is beautifully and grandly described in the 
vision which John saw upon the Isle of Patmos, Rev- 
elation xxii, 11, 12, etc. : "And I saw a great white 
throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the 
earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found 
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and 
great, stand before God ; and the books were opened ; 
and another book was opened, which is the book of 
37 



290 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

life; and the dead were judged out of those things 
written in the book, according to their works/' 

This being passed, and those whose names were not 
found written in the book of life being cast into the 
lake of fire, John beheld another scene, Revelation 
xxi, 1; "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; 
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed 
away, and there was no more sea." 

Whether this new heaven and earth is to be the final 
abode of the righteous or not is a matter over which 
there has been much discussion, and it is probable 
that it can never be decided by God's own until they 
enter into that inheritance spoken of in the seventh 
verse of the 21st chapter of Revelation: " He that over- 
cometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God 
and he shall be my son." 

It seems to me that this settles the matter satis- 
factorily. All things in heaven and in earth are to 
belong to him that overcometh. 

We cannot think that anyone will be deprived of at 
least visiting all of his possessions, accordingly I con- 
clude all will at least visit all God's dominions. Since 
God that sitteth upon the throne saith, " behold, I 
make all things new," I am perfectly satisfied, since 
He made me a new creature in Christ Jesus, that He 
will make all things exactly to suit His new creature. 

There are many illustrations of the beauty, of the 
grandeur, and of the glory of that inheritance. The 
country is beautiful and grand, composed of God's 
vast domain, all made anew for our inheritance. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 291 

" There is a pure river of the water of life, clear as 
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
Lamb." It is, therefore, a well watered country and 
the inhabitants shall not thirst any more. "On either 
side of the river,' ' and (as we conclude) extending 
far out from the river to supply plenty of fruit for 
all, "was there the tree of life, which bore twelve 
manner of fruits and yieldeth her fruit every month. " 

Now let us just analyze this pen picture a little. 
This pure river, made so by God, from whose throne it 
flows. A river, indicating its abundance, flowing 
from an inexhaustible fountain, the throne of God 
and of the Lamb, who is the infinite source of life. 
It is the water that giveth life, the tree of life doubt- 
less giving life by its fruit. It is not surprising that 
it is said of that land that the inhabitants die no 
more. " Which beareth twelve manner of fruits;" 
from which we conclude there is a sufficient variety, 
and we have no doubt but each kind is delightful to 
the taste. "And yieldeth her fruit every month ;" 
consequently it is abundant and always fresh. "And 
the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the 
nations." 

It may be asked what need there is of healing 
where there is no disease? It is said that an ounce of 
preventive is better than a pound of cure. It may be 
that this is the principle on which God causes the 
tree of life to bear healing leaves. At least He who 
has provided has seen fit to speak of the healing pro- 



292 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

perties of the leaves of the tree of life as representing 
the excellence of the Christian's inheritance. 

"And there shall be no more curse, but the throne 
of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." This gives 
security that in the new heaven and earth, the inherit- 
ance of God's own, there shall be no more curse as 
there is in this old inheritance. 

"And His servants shall serve Him." To serve God 
day and night forever and ever in that land will 
afford supreme delight. 

"And they shall see His face." To be permitted to 
behold the faces of the good and great in this world 
is justly esteemed, and especially so if they be great 
rulers. But in the kingdom of glory those who are 
heirs have the inexpressible privilege of beholding the 
face of the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

"And His name shall be in their foreheads." This 
seems to have reference to a custom among ancient 
kings of putting a mark of distinction upon the fore- 
heads of favored subjects which secured to them the 
special immunities of their sovereign. 

"And there shall be no night there; and they need 
no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God 
giveth them light; and they shall reign forever." Just 
how one can at the same time be a subject and a ruler 
in a kingdom probably we can never know until we 
are crowned with Him, but that in some way we 
shall reign with Christ is clearly stated in II Timothy 
ii, 12: "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him," 
and in Revelation iii, 2: "To him that overcometh 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 293 

will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I 
overcame and am set down with my Father in His 
throne." 

If we could understand how Christ and His Father 
sit on the same throne we might understand how we 
can sit and reign with Him. This sitting with Christ 
on His throne seems to be the coming glory of salva- 
tion to the uttermost. 

Here we propose to pass from the consideration of 
the question what it is to save to the uttermost to 
the second part of the subject: "What evidence have 
we that Jesus is able thus to save?" But before pass- 
ing we would entreat the reader again to study well 
the subject we have so dimly outlined. The subject is 
inexhaustible and of vast importance. 

That one should seek salvation early in life and find 
this uttermost salvation in pardon, regeneration and 
entire sanctification in the early morn of earthly 
existence, and then continually grow by continually 
feasting on the bread of life, and by exercising himself 
in good words and works, whereby he may grow until 
the latest eve of life, and then be everlastingly re- 
warded in heaven, quite surpasses human estimate. 
As inestimable as is this glory it is all included in 
this — salvation to the uttermost. 



294 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ETIDEKCE THAT JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE 
UTTERMOST. 

What evidence is there that Jesus is able to save to 
the uttermost? 

First, from prophecies concerning Him. 

Romans i, 2, 3, 4: "Which He had promised afore 
by His prophets, in the holy scriptures. 

"Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which 
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. 

"And declared to be the Son of God with power, by 
the resurrection from the dead." 

Herein are set forth in beautifully grand epitome 
the characteristics of the author of our salvation. To 
command implicit faith or unwavering confidence in 
Him, one needs only to study carefully and know 
thoroughly these characteristics as revealed from the 
various sources by which God the Father has and pro- 
poses to reveal them. To some of these we propose to 
call attention in this part of our subject, as laying a 
foundation for faith as the condition of salvation to 
the uttermost. 

First we call attention to the prophecies of the 
scriptures concerning Him. As a foundation of faith 
in Christ, prophecy rests upon the fact, which must be 
conceded by all, that none less than a God or a being 
superior to any of whom we have any knowledge, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 295 

other than God, can with any certainty reveal at any 
considerable length of time before he comes into the 
world any considerable number of particulars con- 
cerning any person or being. And we cannot suppose 
that such a being as the scriptures and the works of 
God declare Him to be, would indite such predic- 
tions concerning any one who is to come, if He was 
more or less than He is represented to be in such 
prophecies. Having premised this much we proceed 
to call attention to prophecies concerning Christ : 

First. General ones declaring his coming. 

Genesis iii, 15: "I will put enmity between thee and 
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it 
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 
This is quoted by Paul, Romans xvi, 20: "And the 
God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly." 

So far as we learn from the Bible this is the only 
prediction concerning Christ, given to the world by 
God for nearly two thousand years. Inasmuch how- 
ever, as there were several representative men, such 
as Abel, Enoch and Noah, mentioned in the Bible, 
who evidently knew more about the promised seed 
than is taught in the language of this passage, it is 
evident they must have been further instructed in some 
way than therein. It is, therefore, highly probable 
that either in dreams, by the dispensation of angels, or 
by the direct agency of His Spirit, God either threw 
light upon this prediction or made Christ more fully 
known by other predictions which He does not see fit 



296 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

to direct Moses, the inspired writer of the first five 
books of the Bible, to record. 

We speak of Abel, Enoch and Noah as representa- 
tive men because they seem to be made such in the 
Bible. Doubtless there were many during these years 
who, like Abel, by faith in the promised seed of the 
woman who was to shed His blood for the remission of 
sins, offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, in 
that their sacrifice was attended by the shedding of 
blood in recognition of the shedding of the blood of 
Christ. We are confident that such sacrifices were not 
unknown in the family of Noah, for it is recorded of 
him, Genesis vi, 9: "Noah was a just man and per- 
fect in his generation, and Noah walked with God." 

We learn of no way by which any man can be just 
or justified either under the Patriarchal, the Mosaic 
or the Christian dispensation except by faith in shed 
blood. 

After the flood, the next mention made by Moses of 
a sacrifice is that indicated in Genesis xii, ?: "And 
the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, unto thy 
seed will I give this land: and there builded he an 
altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him." 

In every sacrifice offered to G-od there was a remem- 
brance of God's promise to send His Son to be the 
propitiation for sin. But more fully is this promise 
set forth in Genesis xxii, 18 (B. C, 1872): "And in 
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, 
because thou hast obeyed my voice." 

This promise was made when, in obedience to the 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 297 

divine command, Abraham, by faith had offered his 
son Isaac to God, and this became a type to Abraham 
and to the world of the offering of Christ* Deuter- 
onomy xviii, 15, 18, 19 (B. 0., 1453): "The Lord thy 
God shall raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst 
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye 
shall hearken. 

" I will raise them up a prophet from among their 
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in His 
mouth; and He shall speak unto them all the words 
that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass 
that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which 
He shall speak in my name; I will require it of him." 

It is evident that the Israelites understood this pre- 
diction to be in regard to their Messiah (the Anointed 
One, as the word messiah means), who was to be a 
prophet (or teacher), a priest and a king. These 
were the three offices for occupancy of which they 
were accustomed to anoint, and for which God had 
ordered them to anoint. Though Jesus was not 
formally anointed to either of these offices by the 
pouring of oil upon his head by human hands, yet 
God himself did anoint Him with the Holy Ghost, 
when at His baptism, in the sight and hearing of the 
multitude, He poured out His Spirit upon Him by a 
voice from heaven proclaiming, Matthew viii, 17, 
" This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." 

All this was done when Jesus was thirty years of 
age, the earliest period at which the law would admit 
anvone to be anointed and inducted into either office 



298 SALVATIOK TO THE UTTERMOST. 

which the prophets had predicted God would send 
Him to fill. It would seem that God hereby anointed 
Him prophet, priest and king, and that He ever after 
maintained Him in these offices. 

Psalm lxxxix, 19 (B. C., 1200): "Then thou 
spakest in vision to thy Holy One, and saidst : I have 
laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted 
one chosen of the people. 

"25. I will set His hand also in the seas; and His 
right hand in the rivers: 

"26. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, 
my God and the rock of my salvation. 

"27. Also I will make Him my first-born, higher 
than the kings of the earth. 

"28. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and 
His throne as the days of heaven." 

This is a remarkable prediction of Christ as a king, 
showing the extent of His kingdom over the whole 
earth, indicating its spiritual nature and its duration 
to all eternity. 

Isaiah ix, 6, (B. 0., 640,) : " For unto us a child is 
born, unto us a son is given; the government shall 
be upon His shoulder ; and His name shall be called 
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the ever- 
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase 
of His government and peace there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to 
order it and to establish it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of 
the Lord of Hosts will perform this." 4 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 299 

These last two passages, as we learn from the 
Saviour's own words the nature of His kingdom, and 
also, as we experience the results of its establishment 
in our own hearts and over our lives, impress us with 
the exact truthfulness of every statement contained 
therein. As to its prevalence, triumph and duration. 
Many kingdoms and empires of earth have arisen^ 
spread and then fallen, since the kingdom of our God 
and of His Christ ha3 been established and prevailed 
in the hearts and over the lives of constantly increas- 
ing multitudes of the inhabitants of earth, giving 
assurance of its triumph over the hearts and lives of 
any and all who fully surrender to His sway. 

" The Lord of Hosts will perform this." What will 
He perform ? Everything He has promised respecting 
His kingdom. And His promises are "exceedingly 
great and precious." The Saviour, to the question 
when the kingdom of God should come, answered 
'(Luke xvii, 20, 21,): "The kingdom of God cometh 
not with observation : 

"Neither shall they say lo here, or lo there; for 
behold the kingdom of God is within you." 

Second. Prophecies concerning his divinity. 

Psalm xlv, 6, 7, 11 (B. 0., 1200) : "Thy throne, O 
God, is forever and ever; the sceptre of Thy kingdom 
is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness and 
hatest wickedness : therefore God, thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 

"11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty; 
for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." These 



300 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

things are what God the Father says of His Son, 
clearly showing that He was God, equally with the 
Father, else the Father could not say to His people, 
"worship thou Him." 

We would also refer the reader to Psalm lxxii, first 
to the close. We will only quote here and there a 
sentence which clearly indicate His divinity. 

1. " Give the king Thy judgments, 0, God, and Thy 
righteousness unto the king's son." 

4. "He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall 
save the children of the needy, and shall break in 
pieces the oppressor." 

By the enemies of Christ it is often said, in con- 
tempt, it is only the lower and poorer classes who 
become His followers. This is true as a general thing, 
and this fulfills these prophecies concerning Him, and 
yet the prophets make exceptions, as we see: 

7. "In His days shall the righteous flourish : and 
abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth." 

How wonderfully is this becoming true in our day 
as never before, and just to the extent the people 
receive Christ as their king, and, we may conclude 
from what we have seen in the past history of the 
reign of Christ and what we observe at the present, 
that the time is not far distant when the following 
predictions will be fulfilled to the letter. 

8. " He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, 
and from the river unto the ends of the earth." 
Already is this true of the North American continent, 
at least as far as the governments and a large propor. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 301 

Hon of the people are concerned; they acknowledge 
the rightful sway of Christ if they do not personally sur- 
render their hearts and lives to Him. So may we 
say of the vast extent of His domain under the 
British empire, and of many of the smaller countries 
of Europe and Asia, and of many of the islands of 
the oceans and seas. 

Then, may we not also expect that soon: 

" 10. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall 
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall 
offer gifts. 

" 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him : all 
nations shall serve Him. 

"12. For He shall deliver the needy when He 
crieth ; the poor also, and shall save the souls of the 
needy." 

Many of the kings and other rulers of the earth 
have fallen before this King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords; and, as God is true, the time will come when 
all kings shall fall before Him, and when all nations 
shall serve Him. 

Psalm ex, 1: "The Lord said unto my Lord, sit 
Thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies 
Thy footstool." 

The Saviour asked the Pharisees with reference to 
this passage : "If He was the son of David? How then 
doth David in spirit call Him Lord?" And because 
they denied that He was the Son of God they could 
not answer. 

Isaiah ix, 6, (B. C, 740) : "For unto us a child is 



302 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall 
be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called 
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace." 

This unquestionably refers to Jesus, who was born 
in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary. With 
this we may close our quotations from the testimony 
of the prophets as to the divinity of Christ. Though 
there are several others bearing unequivocal and in- 
controvertible testimony upon this point, yet this is 
sufficient. In Him who is the mighty God, the ever- 
lasting Father, the Wonderful, all may trust as one 
able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God 
by Him. 

Third. Now we call attention to the time when He 
was to appear, according to the prophets. 

Genesis xlix, 10, (B. C, UJ89): "The scepter shall 
not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between 
his feet until Shiloh come ; and unto Him shall the 
gathering of the people be." 

Dr. Adam Clark says that it was generally under- 
stood among the Jews that Shiloh meant the same as 
the Messias or Christ, and the sceptre did not pass 
from Judah until the eleventh year after the birth of 
Jesus, which proves conclusively that He was the 
Christ unless this prediction was a mistake. When a 
Eoman governor succeeded in obtaining the rule over 
the province of Judea, during the life of Jesus, those 
learned in the scriptures were looking for the appear- 
ing of the Messiah as the sceptre had departed from 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 303 

Judah, but as they were expecting Him to be a 
temporal sovereign they were not willing to receive 
Jesus when He declared His kingdom was not of this 
world. In our investigations, however, we shall find 
that this is just the reason they and we should receive 
Him as the Christ of prophecy. Indeed, if we ex- 
amine the passages already quoted we shall find that 
they bear evidence of the fact that the kingdom of 
Christ is not of this world, for He is to rule all kings 
as well as over all kingdoms, and of His reign there is 
to be no end, which can be true of no earthly king, as 
the earth itself shall have an end. 

Daniel ix, 24, to the end of the chapter. For the 
explanation of these verses we refer to Dr. Clark's 
comments, as we do not deem it proper here to occupy 
the space necessary to explain the times meant by the 
prophet, but would simply remark that when properly 
understood it demonstrates fully that the time of 
Jesus' birth, life and death answers exactly to the time 
stated as that of the "Messiah, the Prince" in these 
verses. We deem these passages sufficient as to the 
time, and now direct attention: 

Fourth. To the nation, tribe and family from which 
He was to descend. 

Genesis xviii, 18: "Seeing that Abraham shall be- 
come a great and mighty nation, and all the nations 
of the earth shall be blessed in Him." 

Genesis xxiv, 4: "And in thy seed shall all the 
nations of the earth be blessed." This promise was 
made to Isaac, the son of Abraham. The same is 



304 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

made to Jacob, the son of Isaac, in Genesis xxviii, 14. 

Psalm xxxix, 3, 4: "I have made a covenant with 
my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. 
Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy 
throne to all generations. " (B. C, 713.) 

Isaiah xi, 1 : "And there shall come forth a rod out 
of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of 
His roots." The prophet goes on to describe in 
beautiful language this branch and what He should do, 
to read which will well pay the reader, as it will pay 
anyone to become acquainted with the world's Ke- 
deemer in every possible way. 

Fifth. The place of His birth. 

Micah v, 2, (B. C, 710): "And thou Bethlehem 
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands 
of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto 
me that is to be Euler in Israel." 

Sixth. A messenger should go before Him. 

Isaiah xl, 3 : "The voice of Him that crieth in the 
wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make 
straight in the desert a highway for our God." 

Malachi iii, 1, (B. C, 397) : "Behold I will send 
my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before 
me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come 
to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, 
whom ye delight in ; behold He shall come saith the 
Lord of Hosts." These predictions were fulfilled in 
John the Baptist. 

Seventh. That He was to be born of a virgin. 

Isaiah vii, 14, 15, 16, (B. 0., 742): "Therefore the 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 305 

Lord Himself shall give thee a sign; behold a virgin 
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name 
Immanuel. 

"Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know 
to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before 
the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the 
good, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken 
of both her kings." 

Matthew, in quoting this, says, "this name Emman- 
uel, being interpreted means God with us." This not 
only proves Jesus (being born of a virgin) was the 
promised Christ, and being called Emmanuel was God, 
but it is declared that "before He should be able to 
distinguish good from evil, the land should be for- 
saken of both her kings. " It is true that before Jesus 
had arrived at such an age Eoman governors were 
appointed to rule over both Judea and Galilee, and 
that Jesus having come as the rightful ruler on the 
throne of David, and the dominion being changed by 
God the Father from a physical to a spiritual domin- 
ion, no more did the seed or offspring of David sit 
on the material throne of Israel. All this proves 
beyond successful contradiction that Jesus was, the 
promised seed of the woman, who was to bruise or 
(as the word thus translated would have better meant), 
break Satan's head, which (as a figure) means He shall 
destroy the dominion. These passages also show that 
the prophets who wrote these things concerning Christ, 
must have been inspired or directed of God to write 
them as: 

39 



306 SALTATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 

First. No man or set of men writing at different 
periods of the world, and all writing many years 
before the events they record occurred, could, without 
divine guidance, have told so many things concerning 
any person or being. 

Second. Especially is this true, inasmuch as many of 
these things were most unlikely to occur. But we are 
not yet done with our notice of remarkable predic- 
tions of this most wonderful being, but shall continue 
them in our next chapter. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 307 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FARTHER PROOF OF CHRIST'S ABILITY TO SAVE — CON- 
TINUED FROM THE PROPHETS. 

.Romans i, 2, 3, 4: "Which He had promised afore 
by His holy prophets in the holy scriptures. 

11 Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord which 
was made of the seed of David according- to the flesh. 

"And declared to be the Son of G-od with power, 
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection 
from the dead." 

Eighth. He was to be worshiped by the wise men as 
we learn from Isaiah lx, 1, 6, (B. C, 680): "Arise, 
shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord 
is risen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to 
thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the drome- 
daries of Midian aud Ephah ; all they of Sheba shall 
come, they shall bring gold and incense; and they 
shall show forth the praises of the Lord." This is 
doubtless a prediction of the event that took place 
680 years after it was placed upon record, and was 
related by Matthew ii, 1, 2, 11: "Behold there came 
wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is 
He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen 
His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." 
"And when they were come into the house, they saw 
the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down 



308 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

and worshiped Him ; and when they had opened their 
treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold and 
frankincense and myrrh." 

Now the question is how the prophet knew all this 
680 years before it took place? and how was it that these 
"wise men from the east" came to worship a young 
child, which would be idolatry if He was only an ordi- 
nary child, or even if He was only an ordinary king by 
birth? It is evident that the prophet understood, and 
that these wise men had learned that He was at the 
same time the son of man (or of David), according to 
the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with 
power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, as we are 
taught in the text standing at the head of this 
chapter. 

Ninth. There should be a massacre at Bethlehem. 

Jeremiah xxxi, 15 : "A voice was heard at Ramah 5 
lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for 
her children, refused to be comforted for her children, 
because they were not." 

This is quoted by Matthew as fulfilled in the 
slaughter of young children by Herod, the king of 
Judea, who sought to destroy the young child Jesus 
thereby. 

Tenth. He was to go into Egypt and return. 

Rosea xi, 1: "When Israel was a child then I loved 
him and called my son out of Egypt.' ' 

Eleventh. He should be distinguished by peculiar 
grace and wisdom, and by the descent of the Holy 
Spirit upon Him. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 309 

Isaiah xlii, 1: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; 
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth, I have put 
my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to 
the Gentiles. 

"A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking 
flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judg- 
ment to truth. 

"He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have 
set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for 
his law." 

None can read the history of the life of Christ and 
of the Christian church without being deeply im- 
pressed with the correctness of this prophetic descrip- 
tion. Indeed, as we pursue these prophecies, they 
seem* like history written beforehand, rising into a 
most perfect pen picture. 

Tivelfth. That He should be a prophet. Deuter- 
onomy xvm, 15 (B. C, 1451): "The Lord thy God 
shall raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of 
thee, of thy brethren like unto me; unto Him ye 
shall hearken." 

One province of a prophet was to teach the people 
divine things, another was to foretell future events. 
As a teacher of divine things Jesus was never excelled 
by any that preceded Him; by any that lived in His 
day; and cannot be excelled by any who shall live. 
Of Him it was truthfully said, "never man spake 
like this man." He taught upon the house-top, by 
the way-side, by the seashore, by the river-side, on 
the mountain-top, and in the temple. He taught by 



310 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

parables, the most beautiful and striking, and plain 
declarations, supported by the most conclusive proof 
and argument; so much so that He confounded most 
skillful gainsayers. As a foreteller of future events 
His predictions were very definite and far-reachkig. 
They had respect : 

(1) To His death and to the events which should 
follow. That He should be lifted up from the earth 
and that He should draw all men unto Him. So it 
was that upon the cross He was extended between 
the heavens and the earth; and, by the Bible, the 
preaching of the word, and by the direct agency of 
the Holy Spirit, Christ's own appointed means, He 
has been and is drawing more and more of the race 
of man to Him every year; and, judging the future 
by the' past and the present, we may conclude that 
the time is not far distant when literally all men will 
be drawn to Him, though the time may never be 
when absolutely all men will come to Him. 

(2) Jesus also foretold His own resurrection that on 
the third day He should rise from the dead. Probably 
no event ever occurred of which there was stronger 
and more complete proof than of the resurrection of 
Jesus from the dead. (1) That He was really dead 
all, both His enemies and friends, agree. (2) That 
there was a Eoman guard stationed around His tomb 
to prevent the disciples going and stealing Him from 
the sepulcher, all agree. A full guard among the 
Eomans at that time, as we learn, consisted of seventy- 
two well equipped soldiers. These were selected as 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 311 

the most trustworthy soldiers, and were under the 
penalty of death if they should be found sleeping at 
their posts, or in any way off their guard. (3) All 
agree that in some way the body was removed from 
the sepulcher. 

There are only two ways in which the removal was 
ever accounted for : (1) That stated by the evangel- 
ists who wrote the history of Jesus, and (2) the 
report suggested by the Jewish priests, and pro- 
mulgated by the Roman guard, who said, " While we 
were asleep the disciples came by night and stole away 
the body." 

Let us see which of these accounts seem most 
reasonable. Suppose a court of inquiry to be insti- 
tuted in regard to the removal of any body thus sur- 
rounded, and a soldier on guard testifies that while 
he slept certain parties came and stole away the body. 
Any judge or jury would naturally conclude that the 
witness was perjured as he swore to what, according 
to his own testimony, he could know nothing about as 
he was asleep. Let seventy soldiers swear the same 
and the inevitable conclusion would be that the whole 
seventy witnesses had agreed to establish a falsehood, 
and that their testimony was not worthy of confidence. 
On the other hand there is the testimony of over 
three hundred brethren, whose testimony was never 
called in question, who declare they saw the Saviour 
after His resurrection at different times and places. 
Some of them heard angels state that He was risen- 
Some heard Him speak, bless food, and eat in their 



312 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

presence, and at last, that after He had said unto 
them, " Go ye into all the world," etc., He was 
received up into heaven in their sight, and that 
angels came and said, "this same Jesus whom ye 
have seen ascend shall in like manner descend." So 
we have the incontrovertible testimony of men and of 
angels to prove that Jesus did rise from the dead and 
that He was a true prophet. 

Again, He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, 
the time during which it should take place, and the 
completeness with which it should be accomplished ; 
that before that generation should pass away it 
should be so completely destroyed that of all the 
buildings of the temple there should not be left one 
stone upon another. Before seventy years had 
expired (then accounted a generation) this was literally 
fulfilled. He also predicted His second coming, as to 
time and the events which should follow. As to the 
time it was unknown except to God, and therefore we 
conclude that those who attempt to fix it claim to be 
wise above what is written. As to the manner, He 
says He will come in the clouds of heaven, seated upon 
a great white throne, with power and great glory, and 
with Him all the holy angels, etc. We believe, as He 
is a true prophet, all this will come to pass just as He 
said it would. Happy will faiey be who are prepared 
for that wonderful event and shall hear Him say to 
them: " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 313 

# 

Thirteenth. That He shall work miracles as we are 
taught in Isaiah xxxv, 4, 5, 6 (B. 0., 713): " Be 
strong, fear not; behold your God will come with 
vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will 
come and save you. 

" Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and 
the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped : 

"Then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the 
tongue of the dumb shall sing." Jesus did all this, 
and none else but He and His disciples ever did or 
ever will do such miracles as He, and those who do 
them by faith in Him. 

Fourteenth. He should be a priest. 

Psalm ex, 4: " The Lord hath sworn, and will not 
repent, thou art a priest forever, after the order of 
Melchizedek." 

Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews explains this 
matter fully in the seventh, eighth and ninth chap- 
ters, in which he argues that, ever living to make 
intercession, He is able to save to the uttermost all 
who come to God by Him. 

Fifteenth. That He should be hated and persecuted. 

Psalm xxii, 7, 8 : "All they that see me laugh me 
to scorn : they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, 
saying, 

" He trusted in the Lord that He would deliver 
Him : let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in 
Him." This was literally fulfilled at the crucifixion. 

Psalm xxxv, 11, 12: "False witnesses did rise up; 
they laid to my charge things that I knew not." 



314 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 



» 



Isaiah xlix, 7: " Thus saith the Lord the Eedeemer 
of Israel, and His Holy One to Him whom man 
despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, to a 
servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes 
also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faith- 
ful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose 
thee." 

Isaiah liii, 3,4: "He is despised and rejected of 
men ; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief : and 
we hid as it were our faces from Him. 

" Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our 
sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of 
God and afflicted." This needs no explanation. 

Sixteenth. That He should ride triumphantly into 
Jerusalem. 

Psalm viii, 2: "Out of the mouths of babes and 
sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of 
Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and 
the avenger." y 

Zechariah ix, 9 (B. 0., 587): "Rejoice greatly, O 
daughter of Zion; shout, (laughter of Jerusalem: 
Behold thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and 
having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and 
upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

Seventeenth. That He should be sold for thirty 
pieces of silver. 

Zechariah xi, 12 : " So they weighed for my price 
thirty pieces of silver." 

Eighteenth. He should be betrayed by one of His 
own familiar friends. 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 315 

" Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, 
which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel 
against me/' Judas, is hereby clearly pointed out. 

Nineteenth. His disciples should leave Him. 

Zechariah xiii, 7, " Smite the shepherd and the 
sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand 
upon the little ones." 

Twentieth. False witness should arise against Him. 

Psalm xxvii, 12 (B.C., 1112): "For false witnesses 
are risen up against me." 

Psalm xxxv, 11 "False witness did rise up ; they laid 
to my charge things that I knew not." 

Twenty-first. He should not plead upon His' trial. 
"But I as a deaf man heard not; and I was as a 
dumb man that openeth not his mouth." 

Isaiah liii, 7 (B. C, 712): "He was oppressed, and 
He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is 
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His 
mouth." How could the prophet have known this 
seven hundred and twelve years before it came to pass? 

Twenty -second. He should be scourged, buffeted, 
and spit upon. 

Isaiah 1, 6 (B. 0., 712): "I gave my back to the 
smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the 
hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting." 

Twenty-third. He is to be crucified. 

Psalm xxii, 14, 17: "I am poured out like water 
and all my bones are out of joint ; my heart is like 
wax: it is melted in the midst of my bones. 



316 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

"I may tell all my bones; they look and stare 
upon me." 

Ttventy fourth. They were to give Him vinegar 
mixed with gall, to drink. 

Psalm lxix, 21: "They gave me also gall for my 
meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." 

Twenty -fifth. Casting lots for His vesture. 

Psalm xxii, 18: " They parted my garments among 
them, and cast lots upon my vesture." 

Twenty-sixth. He should be mocked. 

Psalm cix, 25 : "I became also a reproach unto 
them: when they looked upon me they shaked their 
heads." 

Ttventy-seventh. " They shall look upon me whom 
they have pierced." Zechariah xii, 10. 

Twenty-eighth. He should be numbered with trans- 
gressors. 

Isaiah liii, 12 : ' ' Therefore will I divide Him a 
portion with the great ; and He shall divide the spoil 
with the strong ; because He hath poured out His 
soul unto death: and He was numbered with the 
transgressors, and He bear the sins of many, and 
made intercession for the transgressors." This was 
accomplished in His crucifixion between two thieves. 

Twmth-ninth. There should be an earthquake at 
His death. 

Zechariah xiv, 4 (B.C., 687): "And His feet shall 
stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is 
before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives 
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 317 

toward the west, and there shall be a very great val- 
ley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the 
north, and half of it toward the south. " An account 
of the fulfillment of this is given in Matthew xxvii, 
51: "And, behold the veil of the temple was rent in 
twain from the top to the bottom : and the earth did 
quake and the rocks rent : 

"And the graves were opened, and many of the 
bodies of the saints which slept arose. 

"And came out of the graves after His resurrection, 
and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." 

No wonder that "when the centurion, and they 
that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earth- 
quake, and the things that were done feared greatly, 
saying, truly this was the Son of God." Well 
would it be for the world of mankind who read these 
things of Him, if they would come to the same con- 
clusion, and trust in Him for salvation. 

Thirtieth. Darkness should attend His death. 

Amos v, 20: "Shall not the day of the Lord be 
darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no 
brightness in it? " 

Zechariah xiv, 6: "And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that the light shall not be clear nor dark." 
This stands in connection with the prediction of the 
earthquake, and it was fulfilled in the history of the 
Saviour's death. 

Thirty-first. His burial is clearly set forth in Isaiah 
liii, 9: "He made His grave with the wicked and 
with the rich in His death." 



318 SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

So it was that a rich man of Arimathea, named 
Joseph, furnished Him a tomb, and around it wicked 
Eoman soldiers kept watch. 

Thirty-second. His resurrection. 

P sahn xyi, 10: " Thou wilt not leave my soul in 
hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see 
corruption. " This is quoted by the apostles to prove 
the resurrection of Christ. The word here translated 
hell is hades and means the place of departed spirits. 

Psalm xli, 10: "But Thou, Lord, be merciful 
unto me, and raise me up that I may requite them." 
This comes in immediately after the prophecy of His 
betrayal. 

Thirty-third. His ascension to heaven. 

Psalm xxiv, 7: "Lift up your heads, ye gates; 
and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors ; and the King 
of Glory shall come in." 

Psalm lxviii, 18: "Thou hast ascended on high, 
Thou hast led captivity captive : Thou hast received 
gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the 
Lord God might dwell among them." Here, by pro- 
phetic vision as well as by the history of Christ's 
ascension to and intercession in heaven, even the 
rebellious have hope. 

Thirty -fourth. That the money for which He was 
to be betrayed should be paid for the potters field. 

Zechariah xi, 12, 13 (B. C, 587): "So they weighed 
ior my price thirty pieces of silver." 

"And the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the 
potter ; a goodly price that I was prized at. And I 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 319 

took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the 
potter in the house of the Lord." 

Here then are thirty-four particulars, each of 
which points to some characteristic of Christ or to 
some event connected with His birth, life, work, 
death, resurrection, ascension to heaven, and to His* 
intercession for the sins of the world. Now, let the 
reader become fully acquainted with the four gospels 
of Christ as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and 
John; then let him study well, the Acts of the 
Apostles, their Epistles, and the Kevelation Jesus gave 
to John upon the Isle of Patmos, and, we are quite 
sure, he will have overwhelming evidence of Jesus 
being the Christ of the prophetic scriptures, the Son 
of Man, or of David according to the flesh, and 
declared to be, and that He really is the Son of 
God with power (infinite power) according to the 
Spirit of Holiness ; or as pertains to the Holy Spirit. 
More than this, he will unqestionably be convinced 
that Jesus is able to save to the uttermost all who 
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make 
intercession for them. One cannot reasonably do less 
than this which we ask, in order to know and believe 
the truth which involves human salvation from 
eternal misery, and the securing of eternal life and 
happiness commencing in this world, with peace and 
joy unspeakable and full of glory, and consummated 
(but never to be ended) in the infinite glories of 
heaven. 

If the study of Christ, as revealed in all the fore- 



320 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

mentioned scriptures, is not sufficient, then add to it 
His work as set forth in the history of the Christian 
church, from the closing up of Revelation down to the 
present time ; then add to this personal observations 
of the effects of Christianity upon the character and 
destiny of communities, of states, and nations, con- 
trasting them with such as are not Christian, and tell 
me what makes the difference. Then look at the 
effects of Christianity upon the hearts and lives, not 
of those who but half believe its teachings and who 
scarcely live according to its teachings at all ; so far as 
possible sound the depths of the heart by listening to 
the conversation, songs and prayers, and by observing 
their life-deeds, and then witnessing the triumphant 
deaths of those who fully believe in Christ and whose 
lives manifest such a belief, and tell me is there power 
in Christ to save to the uttermost? If one says: "I 
have never seen such Christianity," we would ask: 
Have you not had a Christian father, mother, sister 
or brother, who (under your somewhat critical eye) 
has been converted to God from a life of sin to one of 
at least comparative purity, and has died in triumph, 
asking you to meet him in Heaven? If you have not 
witnessed the conversion of any such, have they not 
testified in your hearing that they have been converted? 
that they love God, their brethren, and neighbors, the 
Bible and the service of God as they did not before 
their conversion? And has not their live? borne tes- 
timony to the truth of their profession? If you have 
no near and dear relatives in whom you could confide, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 321 

of whom the above is true, have you not had friends or 
neighbors of whom it is true? If so, Christ has done 
all this for them, and can do as much or more for you, 
according to your faith. He is saving His thousands 
every year, not of those only who are young and con- 
sequently have sinned but a short time ; not of those 
only who are naturally pretty good and have lived 
moral lives, but of those who were naturally very 
wicked and have lived very wicked lives. Can you not 
trust Him thus to save you? 

If, in any virulent and destructive disease, a physi- 
cian claims to h ave skill and a remedy to cure, and, in 
addition to this, if a large number of visible witnesses 
testify that they have suffered with that disease, some 
of them averring that they were about dying with 
that disease and have been perfectly cured, and, by 
the remedy he has provided and furnished without 
money or price they have been kept perfectly whole, 
would not any reasonable person, being afflicted with 
such a disease, gladly apply to such a physician? 

If in addition to the above circumstances it be true 
that there is no other physician and no other remedy 
which can cure and keep whole, and this physician 
with his remedy has had long and extensive prac- 
tice and has never failed to produce a perfect cure y 
where the case has been wholly submitted to his treat- 
ment, it would be certainly great presumption for any 
to leave his case in his own hands or to trust it in the 
hands of any other friends or physicians, when, for 
long ages, by so trusting, thousands upon thousands, 
41 



322 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

yes all, thus trusting, have lived lives of great suffering 
and, without exception, have died most miserable 
deaths. 

Friendly reader, such a physician is Christ, the 
Saviour. All mankind are affected with the disease of 
sin, compared in the Bible with the leprosy. The 
disease is mortal, that is sure to result in death of the 
spirit, soul and body in hell, if not cured. It never 
has been and never can be cured except by Christ. 
The Bible, which is the only book in which the nature 
and fearful consequences of the disease are described, 
declares that there is no other name given among men 
by which we must be saved except the name of Jesus, 
the Christ. Without an exception, all who have 
trusted in that name, from the time it was first made 
known to the first sinners in the garden of Eden (as 
the seed of the woman) unto the present, have been 
saved from death, being cured of sin by Him. The 
evidence of this cure they feel in themselves, being 
witnessed by the Spirit of the living God, corroborated 
by the peace which passeth understanding and the 
joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. 

Eapidly multiplying thousands each year are putting 
their cases into the hands of Jesus, being healed, saved 
and obtaining the testimony of the fact, and in turn 
bear witness to the fact, not only by their profession 
but by their happy and useful lives and their trium- 
phant deaths, that Jesus is able to save, and that to 
the uttermost. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 323 

Here, then, is the evidence of ability or capacity to 
save: 

First. The testimony of the patriarchs and prophets 
that God had ordained that He should come into the 
world with all the characteristics and endowments 
necessary to save ; 

Second. The testimony of the evangelists and the 
apostles that He did come into the world endowed 
with the capacity to save, evinced by His miracles, by 
His death, resurrection and ascension to Heaven, and 
by the gift of the Holy Ghost ; and 

Third. The accumulating testimony of those who 
are saved by Him. But this is not all. God urges 
every one to come to Him through Christ and prove by 
a blessed experience (the best evidence possible) that 
Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. 



324 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

CONCLUDING CHAPTER. 

We think we cannot better close this volume than 
to present : 

First. Those passages from the Bible which show it 
to be the privilege of Christians to have the witness 
of the Spirit to the work God has wrought in them. 

Second. Those passages which indicate that it is 
God's will that all should bear testimony to whatever 
God has done for them. 

First. The witness of the Spirit : 

(1) To our adoption. 

Romans viii, 16: "The Spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirit that we are the children of God." 

(2) That our faith is such as God approves : 

I John v, 10: "He that believe th on the Son of 
God hath the witness in himself." This is undoubtedly 
true, whether his faith is in regard to the work of 
grace or another. 

(3) As to Christ's dwelling in us and we in Him : 

I John iv, 13: "Hereby we know that we dwell in 
Him and He in us, because He hath given us of His 
Spirit." 

(4) One that assures of everything we seek and 
receive of God : 

I Corinthians \\ s 1H: " Now we have not received 
the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 325 

that we may know the things that are freely given us 
of God." Everything connected with human salvation 
is undoubtedly freely given of God. 

(5) One clearly referring to Christian perfection and 
entire sanctification: 

Hebrews x, 14, 15: "For by one offering He hath 
perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof 
the Holy Ghost is a witness unto us." This passage, 
not only clearly shows that the Spirit witnesses to 
sanctification, but that sanctification and perfection 
are concomitant, inasmuch as it declares that, " By 
one offering He (Christ) hath perfected forever them 
that are sanctified." So, we must conclude that those 
who tell us that entire sanctification, purity, perfect 
love, holiness, etc., can be attained now, but that 
Christian perfection can only be obtained by growth 
which continues during life and, perhaps to all 
eternity, is a mistake. It is unquestionably true 
that all the terms we have cited in the foregoing as 
applicable to the highest state of Christian experience 
and life refer to the same state in kind or quality, 
and may be attained now by faith just to the degree 
of which the applicant is capable now; and, as his 
capacity is increased by growth, he may attain to 
greater degrees in this state of experience and life. 

Second. The following indicates that it is God's 
will that all bear testimony to what He has done for 
them. 

In giving testimony in courts a witness is expected 
"to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 



326 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

the truth. " If he fails to do this his evidence, from 
the nature of things, is not complete. So it is in this 
case. Often, if not always, the consequences of 
neglecting to testify when the Spirit moves one to do 
so (as it always will one who is led by it, as the sons 
of God are, according to Romans viii, 14,) is cold- 
ness, backsliding, and it may be, spiritual death. 

(1) John xv, 27: "And ye also shall bear witness 
because ye have been with me from the beginning." 

(2) Acts ii, 10: "And with many other words did 
he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from 
this untoward generation." 

(3) Acts x, 42, 43: "And He commandeth us to preach 
unto the people, and to testify that it was He that 
was ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and 
dead. To Him give all the prophets witness." 

1 (4) I John iv, 14, 15: "And we have seen and do 
testify that the Father hath sent the Son to be the 
Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that 
Jesus is the Son of God, dwelleth in Him and He in 
God." 

Revelation vi, 9: "And I saw under the altar the 
souls of them that were slain for the word of God, 
and for the testimony which they held." 

Revelation xii, 11: "And they overcame him by the 
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testi- 
mony, and they loved not their lives unto the death." 

Isaiah xiii, 10 and 12: "Ye are my witnesses saith 
the Lord, and my servants whom I have chosen, that 
ye may know and believe me, and understand that I 



SALVATION TO THE UTTEKMOST. 327 

am He: before me there is no God formed, neither 
shall there be after me. I have declared and have 
saved, and have showed when there were no strange 
gods among you,, therefore ye are my witnesses, saith 
the Lord, that I am God." 

Hebrews iv, 14: "Seeing then that we have a great 
high priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the 
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." 

Hebrews x, 23, 24, 25: "Let us hold fast the pro- 
fession of our faith without wavering, for He is faith- 
ful that hath promised ; 

"And let us consider one another to provoke (or 
incite) unto love and to good works. 

"Not (for this purpose) forsaking the assembling 
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but 
exhorting one another : and so much the more, as ye 
see the day approaching." 

Matthew x, 32: " Whosoever therefore shall confess 
me before men, him will I also confess before my 
Father who is in heaven." 

Romans x, 9, 10, 11: "That thou shalt confess with 
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy 
heart that God hath raised Him from the dead thou 
shalt be saved. 

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto 
salvation." ♦ 

From this we justly infer that though one may 
believe unto righteousness, yet if he does not confess, 
with his mouth unto salvation, he may not be saved* 



328 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Philippians W, 11: "And that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
the Father." 

/ Johniv, 15: "And we have seen and do testify 
that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the 
world." 

Acts xix, 18: "And many that believed came and 
confessed and showed their deeds." 

Some say let the deeds show that we are converted 
or wholly sanctified and there will be no need of con- 
fession, or of profession. This passage commends 
confession as subsequent to deeds. Indeed deeds are 
only the fruits of the grace we have attained, which 
attainment we ought to profess or confess and then 
show by deeds that our confession or profession is 
genuine. 

It is doubtless true that ministers of the gospel do 
not, as much as they ought, insist on the privilege of 
all to enjoy the abiding witness of the Spirit of God 
to the state of grace that they have attained, and they 
do not have it clear and satisfactorily, bringing assur- 
ance to the heart that it is their privilege to ask God, 
who is more willing to give the Holy Spirit, to witness 
to their spirits, than earthly parents are to give good 
gifts to their children. 

Then, when they have this witness, it is the duty of 
all to testify to that fact. 

And, finally, the author feels that it is his duty to 
leave such recorded testimony, as follows: On the 6th 
of July, 1839, at a campmeeting near Brushy Prairie, 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 329 

Steuben county, Indiana, God powerfully and wonder- 
fully converted my soul about 12 o'clock P. M. To 
this fact He gave the witness of the Spirit by an 
unmistakeable impression upon my conscience. I 
have retained an abiding evidence, not only that I 
was then and there made a child of God, but that I 
have been and am now a child of God. 

Soon afterward I found that I was not entirely free 
from evil, and filled with goodness ; and (by reading 
the Bible and asking God to guide me by His Spirit) 
I found I might be thus freed and filled. For this I 
sought earnestly; but (as I now see) for want of 
proper instruction and encouragement until 1846, 
December 25th about midnight, while a student at 
the Indiana Asbury University at Greencastle, kneel- 
ing at a chair in my room, my Bible before me, almost 
in despair, I cried, Lord ! I beseech thee direct me 
to some passage in thy word that will lead me into 
the possession of what I seek. I opened my Bible, 
when my eyes fell upon these words: " Blessed are they 
that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they 
shall be filled." I exclaimed — Jesus, these are Thy 
words ! Now fill me ! And immediately I felt a divine 
influence, moving all through me, eradicating all evil 
and diffusing righteousness ; filling me unutterably 
full of glory and of God. I lay for a time prostrate 
upon the floor of my room, while waves of divine love 
rolled over, pervading my whole being. A voice, 
clear and distinct, said within, Ci It is done, thou art 
cleansed and filled." 



330 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

The next morning, being Sabbath, I was going to 
class, when it was suggested I ought to tell my class 
what the Lord had done for me. But another sug- 
gestion came, that I was the youngest member of my 
class and I had never heard any of them, nor even Dr. 
Simpson (the leader), claim such an attainment, and 
it would look like pride for me to make such a claim; 
besides it would be better for me to wait and see if I 
could live consistently with such a profession before I 
made one. So I went up to class and gave the usual 
experience and sat down. But 0! such darkness and 
.condemnation as settled upon me I had never felt 
since my conversion! I began to inquire, Lord, 
why is this? The Blessed Spirit, ever ready to do His 
office, replied, you did not testify to what I did for 
you last night. You yielded to the temptation of 
the adversary. I besought the Lord to pardon that 
wrong and restore to me that great salvation, and 
promised to faithfully testify to it, and to advocate it 
in the future; but, though I did preach and recom- 
mend it to others, I did not receive a clear evidence 
that I had regained it^until 1853, when I was staying 
over night at the house of brother William Turner, in 
Suisun Valley, California, when I became so earnest 
in seeking that I resolved that I would not retire to 
bed until I had the testimony of its restoration in all 
its fullness and power. I consecrated all anew, 
promised faithfulness in testimony and advocacy, and 
again prayed direct me to some passage to guide in 
obtaining it, when that in I John i, 7, came sweetly to 



SALVATION" TO THE UTTEEXOST. 331 

mind: "And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, 
cleanseth us from all sin." 

When the cleansing, the fullness and the witness 
came again with great power, just about midnight, I 
immediately repaired to the door of the room where 
brother and sister Turner had retired and told them 
what God had done for me; and they said, "praise the 
Lord ! " I then went to bed and slept sweetly. In the 
morning I arose, glory illuminating my whole being and 
spreading a halo all around. In that glory I basked 
and bathed for a number of years, testifying and 
preaching a full salvation and urging others to seek it. 
Many did seek and testify that they had obtained it. 
On this I grew strong and confident. But after a 
while I lost the evidence that I was fully saved. I 
sought it again and sometimes thought I had regained 
it, but again feared I had not, until May 1868, wheji 
Bishop Jaynes telegraphed me to take the Marysville 
district. I then said, 0, Lord ! I cannot take that 
district with its cares and responsibilities, unless Thou 
restore to me that perfect salvation, with the witness 
of the Spirit testifying to the fact. The everblessed 
Spirit, faithful and true, said : "Thou becamest too 
self confident, instead of trusting me to keep thee ; 
now go forward, trusting in me, and all will be well." 
That voice I obeyed; and just as I was entering the 
door of the room where my first quarterly conference 
was held, the light and power of that salvation to the 
uttermost, with the witness, came in fullness. Trust- 
ing God alone to keep me, I abide in Him to the 



332 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

present (November 1, 1891), and "I am persuaded 
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principal- 
ities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, 

"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall 
be able to separate me from the love of God, which is 
in Christ Jesus, our Lord." 

And now, having presented in the foregoing much 
evidence that Jesus is able to savejto the uttermost, I 
close by entreating all my readers to come unto God 
by Him, and prove by their own blessed experience 
that He is able thus to save them ; that they, with the 
writer, may join in ascriptions of Glory! Glory! to the 
Lamb forever and ever. Amen and Amen! 



SUPPLEMENT. 



PRAYER. 

Ephesians vi, 18: 1** Praying always with] all prayer and 
supplication in the Spirit." 



SALTATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 335 

PKAYER. 

PRAYER AS A RELIGIOUS DUTY AKD PRIVILEGE IS 
ASKING GOD FOR WHAT WE NEED. 

The first thing in connection with this subject, to 
which we call attention, is the position of the body in 
which it should be offered. We do not think this a 
matter of indifference, nor of mere convenience to the 
suppliant. Neither do we think the position un- 
varying, but that in our usual and formal address at the 
throne of grace, whether it is private or public, we 
are taught that it is God's will that we should kneel. 
We are taught this : 

First. By direct command or exhortation, as in 
Psalm xcv, 6 : "0, come, let us worship and bow down ; 
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." It seems that 
this, being given by inspiration of God, as we are 
taught all scripture is, could not be clearer and fuller 
in teaching us that we should kneel in our approaches 
to the throne of grace. 

Second. By examples, given in the Bible, of inspired 
men kneeling when they pray. 

IT Chronicles vi, 13: "For Solomon had made a 
brazen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits 
broad, and three cubits high, and "had set it in the 
, midst of the court; and upon it he stood, and kneeled 
down upon his knees before all the congregation of 
Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven," and 
offered the dedicatory prayer. 



336 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

Ezra ix, 5: "I fell upon my knees and spread out 
my hands unto the Lord my God." These are two 
examples of eminently holy men kneeling in public 
prayer, when it would seem if any circumstances or 
the character of the suppliants would justify any 
approach to God in prayer, in any other posture of the 
body, these would be the circumstances and character 
of persons. But these cases are put upon record, as 
we are taught all scripture is, for our instruction; 
and we ask in the name of reason and of God, what do 
they teach us but to do likewise? 

Daniel vi, 10: "Now, when Daniel knew that the 
writing was signed, he went into his house ; and his 
windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, 
he kneeled upon his knees three times in a day, and 
prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did 
aforetime." 

Ephesians iii, 14; "For this cause I bow my knees to 
the Father.' ' Here are two instances in which we 
are informed inspired men are accustomed to offer 
private prayers to God kneeling. 

Acts vii, 60: "And he kneeled down and cried with 
a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." 

Acts ix, 40: "And Peter put them all forth and 
kneeled down and prayed." 

Acts xxi, 5: "And they all brought us on our way, 
with wives and children, till we were out of the city ; and 
we kneeled down on the shore and prayed." 

We have thus presented eight instances in which we 
are expressly taught in God's word to kneel in prayer. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 337 

I have not been able to find one passage which 
directly teaches to pray in any other posture of body. 
It is true that one, and only one, passage (so far as I 
have been able to learn) may be so construed as to 
speak approvingly of standing in prayer, but not neces- 
sarily of standing upon the feet, as no mention is 
made or necessarily implied in that passage. It reads 
as follows : 

Mark ii, 25 : " And when ye stand praying, forgive, 
if ye have ought against any ; that your Father also, 
which is in heaven, may forgive your trespasses." 

Inasmuch as Solomon and Nehemiah are said to have 
stood upon their knees and spread their hands toward 
heaven, and all who kneel must of necessity stand 
upon their knees, whether they spread their hands 
toward heaven or not, it is highly probable that this 
passage refers not to standing upon the feet but upon 
the knees in prayer. Consequently it does not recom- 
mend or justify standing upon the feet in prayer. 
Where then is the justification of standing upright on 
the feet against the direct, clear, teachings of God, 
which we have cited, instructing us to kneel in prayer? 
They cannot be found ; consequently we have written 
this clear scriptural statement of what we conceive to 
be the teaching of God's word, hoping that it may 
check, if not entirely stop, a growing tendency of 
Methodists to abandon their former scriptural custom 
of kneeling in prayer, and induce others to enquire 
into, and with an abler pen, to elucidate this subject. 
May the spirit of the infinite move all hearts and con- 
43 



338 SALVATION" TO THE UTTERMOST. 

trol all lives, and bend all knees! For it is written, 
Philippians ii, 10: "That at the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow." 

The second thought in connection with prayer, to 
which we would call attention, is implicit confidence 
in God. 

In order that one have such confidence in any being 
it is essential that he have a thorough knowledge of 
that being, and that be be satisfied that he is excellent 
in his nature in all he says and does, and is, as a con- 
sequence, disposed to do all he can to benefit those who 
put their trust in him, and that he has ability and 
therefore is able to confer the benefits needed. God 
is infinite in love, goodness, mercy and truth, infinite 
in all the attributes of His nature, infinitely excellent 
in all that He is, and in all that He does, and there- 
fore we may have implicit confidence that He is will- 
ing to do all we need to have done for us. 

He is of infinite power, and therefore is able to do 
whatever we need, will confer whatever benefits we 
need. He is everywhere present, and therefore is ftble 
and willing to do in all places what He has done in 
any place. 

He is unchangeable, and therefore able and willing 
to do at all times whatever He has done at any time. 

He is no respecter of persons, and therefore is able 
and willing to do for all persons whatever He has 
done for any. He is infinite, and therefore upon His 
infinity we may rest with implicit confidence, always 
and everywhere. 



SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 339 

The third thought to which we call attention in 
regard to prayer is the necessity of importunity. 
The Saviour sets this forth quite forcibly, in case of 
the widow who came to the unjust judge. how 
kind our Heavenly Father is to listen to and give us 
the assurance that He will grant our petitions, and 
especially in regard to giving us His Holy Spirit, to 
begin and carry forward every work of human salva- 
tion, until it is completed in eternal glory. Surely, 
if any do not trust Him fully, they cannot complain 
that He has not given sufficient reason to do so. Well 
may an inspired apostle ask: " Will not He who with- 
held not His only Son, with Him freely give us all 
things? " 

We might pause here and ask, why do the best of 
persons ask so little? while our Saviour says "ask 
that your joy may be full." While many think it 
admissible to ask all spiritual blessings they think 
that material laws and arrangements are so fixed 
that God will neither suspend nor vary them in 
answer to the prayers of His creatures. While we 
cannot take time or space to refer to scripture texts 
which show that it is the will of God that we ask for 
almost every imaginable material blessing, we will say 
that we have found such passages, and urge our readers 
to obtain a concordance and look out such passages for 
themselves, while we do refer to the Saviour's words, 
Matthew xxi, 22: "And all things whatsoever ye shall 
ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive." Language 



340 SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

could not be clearer or stronger to prove the privilege 
of praying for all things we think we need. 

However, in praying for material blessings such as 
rain, and fruitful seasons, health, guidance and 
prosperity in business, and for all material blessings, 
inasmuch as God (infinitely wise), may know what 
we cannot, that, if what; we may think would be a 
blessing, if bestowed, would be a curse to us, while 
it might be a blessing to others, therefore, in pray- 
ing for such things we should always say in our 
hearts, if not with our mouths, if Thou, Father, 
seest best. But, as we are taught in God's word, that 
all spiritual blessings (according to our capacity to 
receive) are for our good, we may ask them with no 
such reserve. 



